Berkshire Hathaway Investment Boosts Paytm’s Valuation By 20%
Paytm is now valued at $10 billion.
The valuation of Paytm’s parent One97 Communication Ltd. jumped 20 percent after it raised funds from billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Paytm is valued at $10 billion (Rs 70,634 crore) after the deal in which Berkshire Hathaway infused $300 million (Rs 2,103 crore), according to documents filed with the Registrar of Companies and calculations by BloombergQuint. Berkshire Hathaway’s arm BH International Holdings bought 1,702,713 shares at $176.18 (Rs 12,352.6) apiece, the value as of Aug. 28 when the board approved the infusion.
In May, One97 shares were worth Rs 10,560 apiece, according to the filings, valuing the company at $8.34 billion (Rs 58,586 crore).
The investment gives Berkshire Hathaway a 2.9 percent stake in the company, which counts Alibaba Group as its largest shareholder with 38.4 percent stake, followed by SoftBank Group Corp and SAIF Partners that hold close to 20 percent each.
Paytm, which started in 2010 as a mobile recharge services provider, created a host of payment solutions such as a digital wallet—and the Paytm Payments Bank is now India’s second most-valuable startup after Flipkart.