 "Jio Financial Services, HDFC Bank frontrunners to buy Paytm's wallets biz")
Paytm is in exploratory talks to sell its wallets business. HDFC Bank and Jio Financial Services (JFSL) are among the forerunners to acquire it, Hindu Businessline (BL) reported on Monday, citing fintech and banking executives. The company's wallet business is housed under Paytm Payments Bank.
The report comes days after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred the Paytm Payments Bank from accepting deposits from February 29. The BL report added that Paytm has been in talks with JFSL since November last year.
"With KYC-related issues compounding for Paytm, they've not been as aggressive with the business as they were prior to 2022 in the wallets business and if valuations on the table were decent, the talks with Jio would have fructified much earlier," a banker was quoted in the report as saying.
Now, the company is looking for a deal to ensure the continuity of the business.
The report also said that Paytm reached out to HDFC Bank for a deal just before the RBI ban. HDFC's digital wallet, Payzapp, has around 14 million users. JFSL has not been able to make any significant impact on the industry, but this deal could give it the much-needed start.
After the reports, the shares of Jio Financial Services Ltd rose in the Indian stock market. As of 1:45 pm, its shares were trading 15.74 per cent in the green at Rs 293.7 apiece on BSE.
However, the shares of HDFC Bank were trading flat at Rs 1.446.25 apiece. For Paytm, the shares have plunged over 40 per cent in the last three days. On Monday, they were trading 10 per cent in the red at Rs 438.35 apiece.