Paytm has firmly denied reports suggesting that billionaire Gautam Adani is in discussions with CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma to acquire a stake in the digital payments firm. One97 Communications Limited, Paytm’s parent company, clarified that it is not engaged in any such negotiations with the Adani Group.
“With reference to the captioned subject, we hereby clarify that the above-mentioned news item is speculative, and the Company is not engaged in any discussions in this regard,” Paytm stated in a stock exchange filing.
The Adani Group also categorically denied the rumors, labeling them as baseless and untrue.
The speculation originated from a recent media report which claimed that Vijay Shekhar Sharma had visited Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, to “finalize the contours of a deal.” The report further suggested that Gautam Adani had been in ongoing discussions with Vijay Shekhar Sharma and was also in talks with West Asian funds to attract them as investors in Paytm.
Despite the company’s denial, Paytm’s shares saw a 5% increase, while Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani Group, experienced a 0.4% decline in its share value.
As of the end of March, Vijay Shekhar Sharma holds a 9.1% stake in Paytm personally and an additional 10.3% through Resilient Asset Management, a foreign entity, according to exchange data.
