Paytm shareholder Antfin to sell 3.6% stake via block deal - report

BENGALURU, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Paytm (PAYT.NS) shareholder Antfin is likely to sell a 3.6% stake in the Indian payments firm through a block deal on Friday as it further reduces its stake in the company, CNBC-TV18 reported on Thursday.

The floor price for the sale is set at 880 rupees per share, the report added, which is a 2.7% discount on Paytms last closing price of 904.45 rupees.

Citi has been appointed as the broker for the deal, which the broadcaster said is valued at a total of $234 million.

Paytm and Ant Group did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Earlier this month, Paytm said Chief Executive Vijay Shekhar Sharma would buy a 10.3% stake held by Antfin in the firm he founded – in a deal that made him its single largest shareholder.

Antfin is the Netherlands-based arm of Chinese fintech giant Ant Financial. The company, whose stake in Paytm fell to 13.49% after the earlier deal, could further reduce its stake to under 10%.

Antfins selldown comes after Chinas Alibaba (9988.HK) sold its entire stake in Paytm in February. Japans Softbank Group (9984.T) has also been cutting its stake in Paytm through open market deals, with its holding down to 9.18% after its latest deal.