The Board Members of Paytm met to discuss an IPO proposal on May 28 to raise ₹22,000 crores (Around $3 Billion). However, according to a source, the IPO will be launched around the October-December quarter this year.
“The board of directors of Paytm has given in-principle approval for the mega IPO planned to be launched in October-December quarter. The company expects to raise around Rs 21,000-Rs 22,000 crores from the IPO. This will also give some of the existing investors to offload some of their stakes,” as told by the source to news agency PTI. However, the company is yet to make an official statement on this development.
The parent company of PayTM, One97 Communications India Ltd, is likely to opt for an IPO with almost double the valuation this time. The company’s valuation stood at $16 billion when it was last valued. In 2019, the company was able to raise around $1 billion from Softbank and Ant Financial 2019.
This news has resulted in soaring the share price of Paytm from ₹11,000 to ₹18,500 per share in a week in the grey market, as reported by ET.
It had soared last time in early 2020 before the Covid-19 crisis when it touched the price of Rs 19,000 per share, which was more than this. But by May 2020, it had fallen as much as Rs 8,500 per share.
Paytm has been trying to deepen its roots in the financial services space by offering a variety of services like mutual funds, stocks and insurance. Moreover, it has also applied for a general insurance license.