Paytm shares surge, hit 5% upper circuit amid Adani stake speculation

Investing.com-- Paytm shares rose sharply during the market open on Wednesday, hitting an upper circuit amid speculation that Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group was looking to take a stake in the fintech firm. 

One 97 Communications Ltd (NS:PAYT), which owns and operates Paytm, jumped 5% to 359.45 rupees in early trade.

But Paytm said in a filing that reports of Adani eyeing a stake in the firm were speculative, and that the firm was not engaged in any discussions over the matter.

The clarification comes after The Times of India reported earlier on Wednesday that Adani was in late-stage talks with Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Sharma over the conglomerate taking a stake in One 97 Communications. 

Any stake in Paytm will position Adani to push further into the hotly-contested Indian fintech space, where it will compete with the likes of Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Pay, Walmart’s PhonePe and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Financial. 

A major stake in Paytm will also be Adani’s biggest purchase after NDTV and Ambuja Cements. The conglomerate has several listed entities in Indian markets, helmed by its flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd (NS:ADEL).

The Times of India report said that negotiations between Sharma and Adani had been going on for a while, and that the two had met in Ahmedabad on Tuesday to finalize an agreement. 

Any stake purchased by Adani will present a bargain, after a series of regulatory hurdles saw Paytm shares lose nearly half of their value so far in 2024. 

The stock was close to record lows after largely underperforming since its listing in 2021. 

This year, the company saw renewed ructions after the Reserve Bank of India ordered the firm to wind down its banking unit. Paytm wrote down the entire value of the unit, and also clocked a steep loss in the Jan-March quarter.