Paytm denies talks with Adani Group for a deal over stake buy

New Delhi: Digital payments firm Paytm Wednesday said it is not engaged in talks with Adani Group for selling stakes and called reports regarding it ‘speculative’, The Indian Express reported.

One97 communications Ltd, owner of Paytm brand, said in an exchange filing that the news item about it is ‘speculative and the company is not engaged in any discussions in this regard’.

The company further informed that it has made and ‘will continue to make disclosures in compliance with our obligations under SEBI (Listing obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.’

However, reports earlier said Paytm founder-CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma met Gautam Adani in his Ahmedabad office on Tuesday to hammer out a deal linked to stake selling.

The deal could help Adani Group enter India’s fintech sector, directly taking on giants such as Google Pay and Phone Pe.

Aside from other partners such as private equity fund Saif Partners and Antfin Netherlands, Sharma reportedly owns 19 per cent of One97 Communications.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took action against Paytm charging it with failure to comply with regulations.