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One 97 Communications Ltd., the parent entity that operates mobile payments pioneer Paytm, on Monday informed stock exchanges that Resilient Asset Management B.V. intends to sell up to 4.98% of its shareholding in the company through a block market trade. The proceeds from the transaction will accrue to Antfin under an existing optionally convertible debenture (OCD) agreement, further reducing its indirect economic exposure to Paytm.
Resilient Asset Management B.V. is wholly owned by Paytm founder and chief executive Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Under an arrangement dated August 2023, disclosed by the company, Antfin transferred about 10.2% of its equity stake in Paytm to Resilient in exchange for OCDs (issued by Resilient to Antfin). Post the transfer, Resilient held direct shareholding in One 97 Communications, while Antfin held the debentures, which carry an economic claim tied to the value of those shares. To be sure, the development comes as Paytm has stayed an Indian-Owned and Controlled Company (IOCC) for two straight quarters, with domestic institutions steadily raising their shareholding. Domestic investors currently hold 51.6% of Paytm, as of the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Antfin which once held 27.9% stake in Paytm in 2021, has steadily pared down its stake in the Indian fintech major since then, and fully exited its direct stake in August 2025. The shares now being sold by Resilient fall solely under the 2023 debenture arrangement. "The Company is not a party to the transaction, and there is no change in the Founder's (Sharma's) direct shareholding in Paytm," Paytm said as part of its exchange filing late Monday evening. This comes as Paytm's profitability push has continued to gather pace. One 97 Communications reported a full-year profit after tax of 552 crore for FY26, with revenue rising to 8,437 crore, marking the company's first full year of profitability since its 2021 listing. The momentum has carried into the current fiscal year. For the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (Q1 FY27), the company reported a profit after tax of 220 crore, up 79% from 123 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations rose 28% year-on-year to 2,448 crore, while EBITDA more than doubled to 203 crore. Recently, brokerage firm Bernstein raised its target price on the Paytm stock to 2,200 from 1,500 earlier this month, citing potential UPI merchant discount rate income, becoming the first brokerage target to exceed Paytm's 2,150 IPO price since its 2021 listing. (ANI)
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