Ant Group Co. is considering selling some of its shares in the operator of Indian financial technology business Paytm to keep its position under a necessary level, according to sources.
One 97 Communications Ltd.’s share price passively climbed as a result of share buybacks, and the Chinese fintech behemoth has been debating alternatives to lowering its investment in the company, according to people who asked to remain anonymous because the conversation is private.
The participants stated that the discussions are in their early stages and that certain specifics might change as a result of regulatory and pricing issues. Email requests for feedback from Ant didn’t get a prompt reply. Paytm opted out of commenting.
The discussion comes after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., a subsidiary of Ant Financial, sold its ownership stake in Paytm as the e-commerce giant reduced its investments in India due to rising geopolitical tensions. They also said that the sale of Ant will be due to business-related factors rather than political ones.
Ant owned 24.86% of One97 as of December, but after the share repurchase, one of the sources said that Ant’s interests went above 25%. After the buyback on February 13 is completed, Ant will have a 90-day option to reduce its stake. In December, One97 declared that it would repurchase up to 8.5 billion rupees ($100 million).
As Ant intends to back off, Indian telecom mogul Sunil Mittal is reportedly looking to acquire a stake in Paytm by combining his financial services business with the payments bank of the fintech company.
According to the people, who asked to remain anonymous, Mittal wants to merge Airtel Payments Bank with Paytm Payments Bank through a stock deal and also buy Paytm shares from other shareholders. Airtel and Paytm may not strike an agreement at this point in the negotiations, the people said.
To create a network of payment services across Asia, Ant has invested in 10 fintech wallets outside of mainland China.
Ant is seeking approval to submit an application for a financial holding company licence in China, which would allow it to continue its fintech operations. Regulators recently let the company’s subsidiary in consumer lending to boost capital, which is a sign of improvement.
In the midst of a larger retreat, billionaire Jack Ma, who has generally avoided the spotlight, has declared he will relinquish management of Ant while he still owns stock in the company.
