Paytm IPO: Paytm gets green light for Rs 22,000 crore In-Principal Approval for IPO

Digital payments and financial services firm Paytm has received a nod from the company's board to raise around Rs 22,000 crore through an initial public offer during the October-December quarter this year, as per industry sources. Paytm is eyeing an enterprise value of over Rs 2 lakh crore for the IPO. The same is scheduled for discussion in its board meeting that will take place on Friday. 

Paytm gets approval for IPO

"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 crore from the IPO. This will also give some of the existing investors to offload some of their stake," the source aware of the development told PTI.

Paytm's board meeting was held on Friday. However, a company spokesperson declined to comment on the decision. Even so, if Paytm achieves its target, it will likely be one of the largest IPOs in India. Currently, Paytm shareholders include Alibaba's Ant Group (29.71 per cent), Softbank Vision Fund (19.63 per cent), Saif Partners (18.56 per cent), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (14.67 per cent).

Among others who hold smaller stake less than 10 per cent include AGH Holding, T Rowe Price, and Discovery Capital, and Berkshire Hathaway. With over 1.4 billion monthly transactions, Paytm claims to be around 30-50 per cent larger than other mobile apps in the segment. Paytm had previously reported a narrowing of loss by 40 per cent and an increase of revenue to Rs 3,629 crore on a year-on-year basis in the fiscal year 2019-20.

Paytm expands operations beyond digital payments

Paytm founder and Chief Executive Officer Vijay Shekhar Sharma has been aiming to ramp up the company's revenue and monetize its services over the past year. Apart from digital payments, the company now offers other services like banking, credit cards, financial services, wealth management and digital wallets.