Berkshire Hathaway sells 2.46 pc stake in Paytm for Rs 1,371 cr; incurs 31 pc loss per share

Billionaire Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday sold its entire 2.46 per cent stake in Paytm for Rs 1,371 crore through an open market transaction at a loss of about 31 per cent per share.

The company had acquired 2.6 per cent stake in Paytm for Rs 1,279.7 per share at an aggregate value of Rs 2,179 crore, as per an official document.

The shares were disposed of on Friday at an average price of Rs 877.29 apiece, taking the transaction value to Rs 1,370.63 crore, according the data available on the NSE.

A comparison of the purchase and sale price of the shares show a loss of 31 per cent apiece.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc through its affiliate BH International Holdings sold more than 1.56 crore shares of fintech Paytm’s parent One97 Communications on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

According to the bulk deal data available with the NSE, BH International Holdings offloaded 1,56,23,529 shares, or a 2.46 per cent stake, in Noida-based Paytm.

At the end of the September quarter, BH International Holdings held 2.46 per cent stake in Paytm, shareholding data showed with the BSE. It could not be immediately ascertained when the entity had offloaded the 0.14 per cent stake.

Meanwhile, on Friday, Copthall Mauritius Investment picked up 75,75,529 shares and Ghisallo Master Fund LP acquired 42.75 lakh shares, amounting to a 1.19 per cent and 0.67 per cent stake in Paytm, respectively.

The shares were purchased at an average price of Rs 877.20 per piece, taking the aggregate deal value to Rs 1,039.52 crore.

Details of the other buyers could not be ascertained.

Shares of One97 Communications declined 3.08 per cent to close at Rs 895 apiece on the NSE on Friday. In October, Fintech company One97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand, reported the narrowing of consolidated loss to Rs 291.7 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal.

The company had posted a loss of Rs 571.5 crore in the year-ago period. The consolidated revenue from operations of the company increased about 32 per cent to Rs 2,518.6 crore during the quarter from Rs 1,914 crore a year ago.