The chairman of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani, is reportedly thinking about buying stock in One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, according to The Times of India, which cited people with knowledge of the situation.
A renowned fintech startup called the allegation "speculative" after it was reported in the media that Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani was in discussions to purchase a share in Paytm from the company's founder, Vijay Shankar Sharma.
The source also stated that on Tuesday, Paytm CEO and founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma met with Adani at his Ahmedabad office in order to "finalize the contours of a deal."
Paytm Disavows Media Story
Paytm has stated in a filing to stock markets that it is not currently having any conversations about this.
"...We hereby clarify that the abovementioned news item is speculative and the Company is not engaged in any discussions in this regard," the filing stated.
"We have always made and will continue to make disclosures in compliance with our obligations under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015."
Report on Adani PayTM Talks
Early on Wednesday morning, a publication reported—citing anonymous sources—that Gautam Adani, the head of the Adani Group, is considering purchasing stock in One 97 Communications, the firm that owns Paytm.
Per the report, on Tuesday, Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma met with Gautam Adani at the latter's Ahmedabad headquarters in order to "finalise the contours of a deal".
Sharma owns almost 19% of One 97, which is valued at Rs 4,218 crore based on the stock's closing price of Rs 342 per share on Tuesday, according to the news source.