Acquisition by Bank or NBFC Best Scenario for Paytm: Bernstein

Will Vijay Shekhar Sharma be able to revive the company in next 6 months or Paytm will lose its existence among upi customers ???

Are you guys selling/buying?

Zomato is eyeing a new dish: Paytm's ticketing business. The potential Rs 1,500 crore acquisition is a bold move by Zomato to diversify beyond its core food delivery domain. The Strategy: - Bolster "going-out" vertical (event bookings, dining) to offset slowing food delivery growth - Leverage Paytm's established ticketing platforms to expand the segment - Capitalize on strong revenue growth in Zomato's current going-out business For Paytm, the sale is a strategic slice. Faced with regulatory hurdles, the company is refocusing on its payments and lending operations. The deal would allow Paytm to streamline its portfolio and double down on its core strengths. The acquisition underscores the shifting strategies of India's tech titans as they navigate a fiercely competitive landscape. With growth slowing in traditional segments, companies like Zomato are hunting for new avenues to keep the revenue engine humming. Another Blinkit story in the making? 🚀

RBI is a big bully, everybody knows that. RBI has bullied the likes of HDFC, ICICI and a lot of fintech startups. All it wants is that these folks are compliant with the rules. RBI is one of the most stringent Central banks in the world. This also ensures a lot of financial stability in the country, sometimes overdoing the regulations. Once you fix the systems and comply with RBI, business is back to usual. This has been the trend in all the notices that have been sent across to all the different companies. Paytm should be no different. Paytm has a book value of 205. In case the stock hits a few more lower circuits, in the words of Ashneer Grover, it'll be a "Screaming buy". Every good opportunity comes with a lot of risk. The primary risk here is that Paytm doesn't get its act straight and RBI at the end of February imposes the actions that are mentioned in the circular. Next line in such a case. Well the money is lost but if they fix the necessary things within time then it's going to be a jackpot. Catching falling knives is never easy, and it's bound to hurt you, but hey, "Risk He Toh Ishq He". Next lower circuit is ~487rs The one after it is ~390rs. I think anything under 500 is great price without the RBI impact. If it hits the circuit tomorrow, I'll start buying on Monday. If it doesn't, well, salary is already credited, so it's time for some risky investment.

VC here. Doing this for fun. Don't take all views seriously.

1. Migrating PhonePe to India 1B $ in useless tax 2. Like that stupid separation of PhonePe from Flipkart ~0.7B $ 3. Now this 3.5B$ just to increase its stake when it was already a majority owner! What's going on?

What's happening in the company? Is there a comeback plan in action? Are you guys working on shifting the existing merchants to a different bank? Give us some insider info👀

Controversial take below: No doubt that PayTM has been a poster-boy of Indian fintech startups. And Vijay Shekhar Sharma has been an exceptional entrepreneur: building PayTM into a homegrown brand and a multi-billion dollar public company. To that extent, PayTM does deserve a lot of respect from the entire startup community and all of us. But in current context, they were found to be persistently non-compliant on certain regulations: regulations which are not new and which exist for the protection of consumer interest and overall trust in the ecosystem. That PayTM failed to adhere to them, is squarely on them. That is just oversight or just negligence on their part, and they are facing the consequences of their (in)action. Why then this show of support for PayTM, who clearly is at fault here? Is it just sympathy for VSS and other PayTM employees who see a lot of their wealth dissipate overnight? Is it just teenage rebellion spirit against the "system" and believing startups are above them? Or is it just accepting that it is okay to cut corners, almost with the guilt of knowing we have erred similarly too? I get the respect for the company and VSS, I do. But to present them as heroes who have been hard done by regulators, is a grossly misleading narrative.