Vijay Shekhar Sharma Becomes Sole Significant Beneficial Owner of Paytm as Antfin's Stake Shrinks

One97 Communications Limited (OCL), the parent company of Paytm, has undergone a significant shift in its ownership structure. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and CEO of OCL, has emerged as the company's sole Significant Beneficial Owner (SBO). 

This shift comes after Antfin, the Chinese financial services partnership, reduced its stake in OCL from 23.79% to 9.90%. Sharma's foreign entity, Resilient Asset Management B.V., bought a 10.3% stake in Paytm from Antfin, followed by a 3.6% block sale.

 As a result, Sharma now has a 19.42% stake in OCL, both directly and through his entities. It is important to note that Paytm remains a professionally managed company with no identified promoter. 

Indian laws require a shareholding of more than 25% to be recognized as a promoter. This development is expected to alleviate concerns about Chinese ownership and positively impact the company's fundamentals. 

The change in ownership structure also aligns with regulatory efforts to improve transparency and combat activities such as tax evasion, money laundering, and benami transactions within corporate entities. This demonstrates Sharma's belief in the company's future and growth prospects.

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