The much-hyped fintech player One97 Communications which operates Paytm had a disappointing debut on the bourses on Thursday. Its shares listed at a discount of 9.05% to its issue price of Rs 2,150. The stock opened at Rs 1,950 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and at Rs 1,955 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, 43, got emotional while delivering his speech during the listing ceremony at the BSE. “Jab bhi kabhi Rashtra Gaan aata hai, air ek line aati hai Bharat Bhagya Vidhata, toh meri aankon mein se aansu aatey hai, Abhi mere math wo ho gaya, kyuki aapney Rasthra Gyan chala diya (whenever the national anthem is played, I get teary-eyed when I hear the words “Bharat Bhagya Vidhata”, this happened to me today as you played the national anthem),” he said.
“People always tell me how do I raise money at such high prices, and I tell them I never raise money on the price, I raise money on purpose,” he added.
The demand for the fintech giant’s IPO was also tepid as the issue was subscribed just 1.89 times as investors worried about bloated valuations of the company. Qualified Institutional investors placed 2.79 times bids for the portion reserved for them while retail placed bets for 1.66 times of their portion. However, non-institutional investors just subscribed for 24% of their reserved portion.
At 11 am, shares of Paytm parent were down 17.4% or Rs 339 at Rs 1,611.05, ascribing Rs 1,04,686.47 crore in market capitalisation to the business.
The street had an inkling of tepid listing as Gray Market Premium (GMP) for Paytm shares had slipped to Rs 25-30 per share one day before the listing. Investment bank Macquarie has initiated coverage with an “underperform” rating of the stock with a target price of Rs 1200, a discount of 40% to the IPO price.
Touted as India’s biggest, Paytm’s Rs 18,300 crore IPO, comprised fresh issue of shares worth Rs 8,300 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of shares worth up to Rs 10,000 crore.
