Paytm is looking to raise Rs 12,000 crore through fresh issue of shares.
Representative Image (Image: Reuters)
The IPO-bound One97 Communications which owns and operates online payments firm Paytm has called an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on July 12 to seek shareholders nod to raise Rs 12,000 crore through fresh issue of shares.
The stakeholders will also decide if founder and chief executive Vijay Shekhar Sharma can be declassified as the promoter.
“The declassification will relieve Vijay Shehar Sharma from the liabilities associated with being named a promoter. Additionally, a promoter is per force required to report all trades in the shares of the company,” said Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director of InGovern Research Services.
The founder currently holds 9,051,624 equity shares of the company amounting to 14.61% of the total paid-up equity share capital of the company on a fully diluted basis.
The notice issued on June 18 has also sought shareholder approval for a pre-IPO placement.
Besides deciding on the total number of equity shares that need to be reserved for allocation to eligible categories of investors, amendments to the Employees Stock Options Scheme are also on the cards.
Besides fresh issues of equity share, the IPO is also expected to have an offer for the sale of equity shares by existing shareholders of the company. However, there was no immediate information on the same.
Earlier this month, the company had invited shareholders and employees to dilute their stake.
Ahead of its IPO, Paytm has reported a revenue of Rs 3,186 crore for the financial year 2020-21 against Rs 3,540 crore in the previous year.
Paytm’s losses also narrowed to Rs 1,701 crore during the period under review from Rs 2,942 crore in the previous year.
Among Paytm shareholders, Alibaba’s Ant Group has 29.71 percent of its shares, while Softbank Vision Fund and Saif Partners consist of 19.63 percent and18.56 percent, respectively.
Priyanka Sahay
