(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Berkshire Hathaway-backed mobile payment company Paytm fell 26 percent in its stock market debut on Thursday, with intraday trading sending the stock down as much as 28 percent from its issue price.
Paytm is India’s largest mobile payments and commerce platform, and its IPO was touted as India’s largest to date.
The IPO had been projected to be at a valuation of between $24 billion to $25 billion with the company raising around $2.3 billion.
Founded in 2009, Paytm is an Indian e-commerce payment system and financial technology company, based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
In 2018, Berkshire Hathaway made a $356 million investment for a 3-4% stake in One97 Communications Ltd, the parent of Paytm.
In addition to Berkshire Hathaway, China’s Alibaba and Japan’s SoftBank are also stakeholders.
The investment was made by Berkshire portfolio manager Todd Combs, who said at the time, “I have been impressed by Paytm and am excited about being a part of its growth story, as it looks to transform payments and financial services in India.”
“Berkshire’s experience in financial services, and long-term investment horizon is going to be a huge advantage in Paytm’s journey of bringing 500 million Indians to the mainstream economy through financial inclusion,” Paytm’s founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said in 2018.
© 2021 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.