Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has completely divested its holdings in the fintech giant Paytm through an open market sale, resulting in a loss of around Rs 600 crore.
The sale involved more than 1.56 crore shares of Paytm at a weighted average price of Rs 877.29 per share, according to data from the National Stock Exchange.
Berkshire Hathaway initially invested Rs 2,200 crore in Paytm in 2018 and had previously sold shares worth Rs 220 crore during Paytm’s IPO in 2021.
As of September 2023, Berkshire’s BH International Holdings held a 2.46% stake in One97 Communications Ltd, Paytm’s parent company.
The exit by Berkshire Hathaway follows a series of stake reductions by other entities, including SoftBank Group and Alibaba Group. Copthall Mauritius Investment and Ghisallo Master Fund LP acquired shares in Paytm as part of the sale, with Copthall picking up a 1.19% stake and Ghisallo Master Fund acquiring a 0.67% stake.
The shares were purchased at an average price of Rs 877.20 apiece, with the total deal value reaching Rs 1,039.52 crore. Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma expressed openness to increasing his stake in the company, having recently become Paytm’s largest shareholder after purchasing shares from Chinese firm Ant Financial.
Despite the divestment, Paytm reported a narrowing of consolidated losses in the second quarter of the fiscal year, reaching Rs 291.7 crore compared to Rs 571.5 crore in the same period the previous year. Consolidated revenue from operations rose about 32% to Rs 2,518.6 crore in the quarter.
