Paytm Considers Scrapping Rs 2,000 Cr Pre-IPO Sale On Valuation Differences: Report

The payments and financial services company is considering doing away with an additional round and not because of differences in the listing valuation, according to reports

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New Delhi: Touted as the country's largest initial public offering Paytm is considering scrapping the proposed Rs2,000 crore ($268 million) share sale ahead of its issue over valuation differences, according to Bloomberg report.

What’s the latest update?

Going by the initial investor feedback, the firm was eying a valuation of above $20 billion while advisers on the deal recommended lower pricing, according to the Bloomberg sources. The valuation of the company was estimated at $16 billion, as per the unicorn tracker CB Insights.

However, the Moneycontrol report suggests that the company has decided to skip the pre-IPO funding round. It is aiming to meet its target for a listing in the month of November just after Diwali, as per the report. As it awaits Sebi's approval, the payments and financial services company is considering doing away with an additional round and not because of differences in the listing valuation, according to the online publication.

Also called One97 Communications Ltd, Paytm intended to tap the IPO market which has seen blockbuster listings this year.  The company had reported a 10 per cent drop in revenue during the year ended March 2021. A final decision is still pending, and the company could still consider a pre-IPO sale potentially at a lower valuation, as per the report. Regulators are expected to approve the listing in the coming days, some of the people said.

Banks including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., and ICICI Securities Ltd. are looking at the share sale. In the Draft Red Herring Prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the company informed it may consider a pre-IPO placement of as much as 20 billion rupees.