Paytm to issue Rs 12,000-cr fresh equity shares ahead of IPO; may remove Vijay Shekhar Sharma as promoter

Paytm plans to raise Rs 12,000 crore via issue of fresh equity shares, ahead of its proposed IPO scheduled for the October-December quarter of this year 2021. Paytm has called its extraordinary shareholder meeting on July 12 in Delhi, it said in a notice to shareholders on Friday. “The company proposes to create, offer, issue and allot fresh equity shares of the company of face value of Re 1, each of the company up to an aggregate of Rs 12,000 crore,” it said. It further said that the proposed offering may also include a fresh issue of the equity shares by the company and an offer for sale by certain, existing shareholders of the company.

Paytm, owned and operated by One97 Communications, said in the 21-page letter that it may consider and approve the declassification of Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma from his status as ‘promoter’. This, along with other proposals, will be put to vote at the extraordinary general meeting. Financial Express Online has a copy of the letter.

The company said that Vijay Shekhar Sharma has been identified as the ‘promoter’ of the company in its annual returns filed with the Registrar of Companies in previous years. “The board of directors of the company is informed that it has received a letter from the founder, on declassification of his status as promoter of the company,” it said in the letter. Currently, Vijay Shekhar Sharma holds 90.51 lakh equity shares of the company amounting to 14.61 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital. The total paid-up equity share capital of the company is broadly held by various institutional investors, employees, ex-employees and other third parties and currently the company has over 1000 shareholders.

Earlier last week, Paytm informed that it has received in-principle approval from its board to float India’s biggest IPO to-date. So far, the Rs 15,200-crore Coal India’s IPO launched in 2010 is the country’s largest public issue. The price band for the Paytm IPO will be determined either at the time of filing the red herring prospectus (RHP) or prior to the IPO opening for the subscription. Paytm’s revenue from operations declined to Rs 2,802.41 crore on a consolidated basis in the year ended March 31, 2021, from Rs 3,280.84 crore in FY20.