Is Adani in talks with Vijay Shekhar Sharma to acquire a stake in Paytm? Here's what Paytm said

Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani is reportedly in talks to acquire a stake in One97 Communications, which operates troubled Paytm.

According to a TOI report, CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma met Gautam Adani at Adani's office in Ahmedabad to 'finalize the contours of the deal.'

Adani was also engaging with West Asian funds to attract them as investors in One97 Communications, the report said.

Adani's plan to enter e-commerce and digital payments space

If a deal goes through, it will mark the Adani Group's entry into the fintech sector, which also aligns with recent media reports suggesting that the Adani Group is planning to enter India's burgeoning e-commerce and digital payments space.

According to a Financial Express report, the group is likely to apply for a license to operate on UPI, a digital payments network currently dominated by PhonePe and Google Pay. Additionally, the company is in talks with banks to finalize plans for launching a co-branded credit card.

The report also said that the company is discussing the possibility of offering online shopping through the Indian government-backed ONDC.

These new services are expected to be integrated into Adani's consumer app, Adani One, which was introduced in late 2022. Currently, the app provides travel-related services, including flight and hotel bookings.

Sharma's ownership in Paytm

At present, Sharma owns about a 20% stake in One97 Communications, which is worth Rs 4,218 crore based on the stock's Tuesday closing price of Rs 342 per share.

He owns 9% of Paytm directly and holds another 10% through a foreign entity, Resilient Asset Management. Both Sharma and Resilient, according to One97's filings with stock exchanges, are listed as public shareholders.

Other significant shareholders of One97 include the private equity fund Saif Partners (15%), the Jack Ma-founded Antfin Netherlands (10%), and the company's directors (9%).

Paytm issues clarification

Paytm has denied these media reports, calling them speculative, and said that the company is not engaged in any discussions with the Adani Group.

'We hereby clarify that the aforementioned news item is speculative and the company is not engaged in any discussions in this regard,' Paytm said in an exchange filing.