By Dave Sebastian


A unit of SoftBank Group Corp. is offloading up to around $215 million of its shares in Indian mobile-payments giant Paytm, according to a term sheet viewed Thursday by The Wall Street Journal, the investment firm's latest share sale as it rides out a downturn.

Shares of One97 Communications Ltd., as Paytm is formally called, were last down 8.4% at INR551. Its stock has fallen about 75% from its initial public offering price in November 2021, when Paytm raised more than $2 billion.

The Japanese firm, through SVF India Holdings (Cayman) Ltd., is selling 29 million shares in a block trade. The shares are being sold somewhere within the range of 555 rupees ($6.80) to INR601.45 apiece, the term sheet shows.

The transaction amounts to a roughly 4.5% stake, the term sheet shows. The SoftBank unit recently held a 17.45% stake in Paytm, according to FactSet.

A SoftBank representative said the firm isn't commenting on the trade. Paytm didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The one-year lockup period for pre-IPO investors expired this week, allowing shareholders like SoftBank to monetize their stakes. SoftBank's block trade is expected to occur Thursday, with the settlement expected next Monday, the term sheet shows.

BofA Securities is the sole bookrunner for the transaction.

Write to Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-17-22 0124ET