Paytm IPO Subscribed 48 Percent as Firm Heads Into Last Issue Day, Garners Bids for 23.5 Million Shares So Far

Indian fintech firm Paytm's initial public offering (IPO) of up to Rs. 18,300 crore was subscribed 48 percent on the second day of the issue period, receiving bids for 23.5 million shares, stock exchange data showed on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board put in an order for about 6 million shares in the main book, a source told Reuters. At the higher end of the price band, this translates to about Rs. 1,280 crore.

Paytm has put 48.3 million shares for sale in what is expected to be India's largest stock market listing, surging past miner Coal India's Rs. 15,000 crore IPO more than a decade ago.

Ant Group-backed Paytm said last week it allocated shares worth Rs. 8,235 crore to more than 100 institutional investors, including the government of Singapore, BlackRock Global Funds, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Launched a decade ago as a platform for mobile recharging, Paytm grew quickly after ride-hailing firm Uber listed it as a quick payment option. Its use swelled in 2016 when a ban on high-value currency bank notes in India boosted digital payments.

Paytm's offering opened for retail investors on November 8, the day on which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the currency ban or demonetisation five years ago.

Founder and Chief Executive Vijay Shekhar Sharma had then hailed Modi's move, calling it "the biggest,the boldest & the most ambitious surgical strike by any government in the world".

A year before that Sharma, the son of a schoolteacher from a small city in India's most populous northern Uttar Pradesh state, had won for Paytm the backing of Chinese billionaire Jack Ma's Ant Financial.

Over the years, Sharma, who has often praised Ma and posted pictures with him, also went on to win other big investors for his firm, including SoftBank and Berkshire Hathaway.

Those stake sales have helped him gain a net worth of $2.4 billion (roughly Rs. 17,806 crore), according to Forbes.

On Monday, as Paytm opened bids Sharma visited an ancient Hindu shrine in Southern India and posted a picture on Twitter.

"I've come here to seek blessings of God for all of Paytm family," Sharma said.

Paytm is looking to raise roughly $2.2 billion (roughly Rs. 16,322 crore) via the IPO at a valuation of $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1,48,396 crore).

The bids close on Wednesday and Paytm will list on Indian bourses on November 18.

Top investor Ant Financial, which owns 27.9 percent of Paytm, plans to sell shares worth Rs. 4,704 crore.

© Thomson Reuters 2021