In a major development, Chinese tech giant Ant Group is all set to fully exit its stake in Indian fintech major Paytm. According to sources cited by NDTV Profit, Antfin—the investment arm of Alibaba Group—plans to sell its remaining 5.84% stake in Paytm through a block deal valued at around ₹3,845 crore.
No More Chinese Stake in Paytm
The deal is expected to be executed on Tuesday and will see Ant Group offload nearly 3.7 crore Paytm shares at a floor price of ₹1,020 per share. That’s about a 5.4% discount from Paytm’s closing price of ₹1,078 on the NSE on Monday.
Once the deal goes through, Paytm will officially have zero Chinese ownership, a move that’s been in the works for some time now.
Ant Group Has Been Cutting Ties Gradually
This isn’t Ant Group’s first move to reduce its holding in Paytm. Back in May this year, it sold a 4% stake in the company via a block deal worth over ₹2,000 crore. And in a big move last year, Paytm’s founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma bought a 10.3% stake worth $628 million from Ant Group. That transaction significantly increased Sharma’s control over the company while reducing Chinese influence.
Alibaba, the parent firm of Ant Group, had already exited Paytm in early 2023 through a similar block deal.
The current exit is being handled by global investment banks Goldman Sachs and Citi. The shares were placed at ₹1,020 apiece, the floor price for this massive trade, according to market insiders. The deal is believed to have been executed early Tuesday morning by Antfin (Netherlands) Holding B.V., which, despite being registered in the Netherlands, is considered a Chinese entity due to its Alibaba ties.
With this exit, Paytm is now officially a China-free fintech, aligning with India’s push for reduced dependency on foreign—especially Chinese—investments in critical sectors like finance and digital payments.
