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Twitter user blames Kotak Bank for Paytm IPO debacle; Uday Kotak reacts – Livemint

A Twitter user, who put the blame on Kotak Mahindra Bank for aggressive pricing of Paytm IPO that eventually led to a historic listing day debacle, has irked Veteran Banker Uday Kotak.

“Mr Uday Kotak please take responsibility for wrong pricing of Paytm IPO and reward them to compensate the losses,” a user tweeted tagging Kotak’s handle.

To which Uday Kotak, who is also the CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, clarified that his Bank is not the lead manager for Paytm IPO.

“Mr. Shah please get your facts right. Kotak did not lead manage Paytm. Kotak did lead manage Zomato at issue price 76( current market price 150), Nykaa at issue price 1125(current market price 2100),” Uday Kotak has said.

Paytm’s IPO was managed by leading banks, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., ICICI Securities Ltd. and Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.

Even before trading began, Macquarie Capital slapped the company with an initial “underperform” rating and a price target of 1,200 rupees, 44% lower than the IPO price.

Retail investors, who invested heavily in shares of Paytm’s parent One 97 Communications Ltd., saw more than 30% of their value wiped out since the payment firm’s listing on Thursday.

After two days of plunge, Paytm scrip rose nearly 10% on Tuesday to settle at 1,489.80 on NSE. However, the debacle has already cast a shadow over the prospects for technology firms preparing to go public in what was supposed to be the country’s breakout year.

Paytm said on Sunday its gross merchandise value – a measure of overall sales processed via its platform – rose 131% in October from a year earlier. The news did little to prevent a fresh sell-off on Monday as investors continued to question the company’s steep valuation and business model.

Founded by Sharma in 2010 as a platform for mobile recharges, Paytm counts SoftBank and Ant Group among its backers and it raised some $2.5 billion in its IPO.

It grew quickly after ride-hailing firm Uber made Paytm a quick payment option in India and its use swelled in late 2016 after India’s shock ban on high-value currency notes boosted digital payments.

CEO Sharma has defended the company’s prospects. He rallied employees during a four-hour town hall and encouraged them to look past the first-day drop, according to employees who participated.

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