UBS is in talks to invest $400 million in Indian digital payments startup Paytm, according to Bloomberg. UBS is negotiating the purchase of Paytm stock from a group of Indian fintech company’s employees.
Paytm was last valued at $16 billion during a 2019 funding round, but its price is likely to have risen substantially in a market where regulatory pressure for a move away from cash and the Covid-19 pandemic have combined to create a perfet storm for digital payments.
Speaking at a Reuters conference, Paytm CEO Vijay Shekar Sharma said the firm was on the verge of turning its first profit.
According to him, “We could very well break even this year, we will start making money. I was surprised by the opportunity of monetization in 2020 during the pandemic, not just by our wealth accounts but also by lending.”
If Paytm wants to become profitable or have an IPO in the near future, they must ensure profitability and sustainability. This fresh funding can be a blessing in disguise for them as it can help them to stay afloat until and unless they hit profitability.
Paytm is among the companies which are expecting to launch an IPO in the future. If you really wanted to know more about IPOs and wanted to invest into them, head over to IPO alerts where we keep you updated with all the major IPOs happening on the stock market.