One97 Communications Ltd is an Indian multinational technology company, headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.[1] It was founded in 2000 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Through its subsidiaries and businesses, the company offers digital payment and financial services to consumers and merchants in India.[2][3] It also provides mobile advertising, marketing and payments for merchants.[4]
In 2021, the company became publicly listed after the largest ever initial public offering (IPO) in India's history.[5][6][7] It was listed on Indian stock exchanges on 8 November 2021.[8][9]
History
One97 Communications Limited was founded in 2000 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in New Delhi. The company is headquartered in Noida, India.[10] It launched Paytm in 2009 as a digital payments platform to facilitate cashless payments.[11] It owns various businesses and subsidiaries – Paytm Payments Bank, Paytm Payments Gateway, Paytm Payout, Paytm Money, Paytm Insider, Paytm Insurance, Paytm Postpaid, Paytm for Business, Paytm Credit Cards, and Paytm First Games.[11][12]
Funding
In October 2011, One97 Communications received funding of $10 million from Sapphire Ventures.[13] In January 2015, Ant Financial Services Group picked 25% stake in the company.[14][15][16] In March 2015, Ratan Tata made a personal investment in One97 Communications's Paytm and joined as an adviser of the company.[14] It received funding of $60 million from MediaTek's investment funds Mountain Capital, which made the company's valuation at $4.8 billion in August 2016.[17]
In May 2017, the company raised $1.4 billion from Japan's SoftBank Group, which made its valuation jumped to over $8 billion.[18] Paytm raised $300 million from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in September 2018.[19][20][21] In November 2019, the company secured $1 billion in a Series G funding led by T Rowe Price and existing investors Ant Financial and SoftBank Vision Fund. Discovery Capital also participated in the round.[22] Paytm raised Rs 9,000 crore ($1.4 billion) from SoftBank.[23][24]
Acquisition
In December 2012, the company acquired MobiVite, a mobile marketing platform[25] followed by the acquisition of Plustx, a cross-messaging platform in August 2013.[26]
IPO
One97 Communications was scheduled to launch its IPO In November 2010. However, it shelved the listing plans last moment, citing volatile market conditions.[1][27] On 16 July 2021, the company filed draft prospectus for its IPO of up to ₹16,600 crore[28] and various news outlets reported it to be India's largest Initial public offering ever.[29][30] It is listed on National Stock Exchange of India and Bombay Stock Exchange since November 2021.[31]
The company's initial share sale aimed to raise ₹18,300 crore at a band of ₹2,080-2,150, valuing it at ₹1.39 trillion.[32] The company's IPO was subscribed 18% on the first day, having received bids for 8.742 million shares against the total issue size of 48.4 million shares. [33] Its IPO was subscribed 48% on the second day[34] and it was fully subscribed on the final day of the issue.[35][36] However, its shares fell 13% and 27% respectively on the days succeeding its listing[37] and has continued to slide sparking criticism on its valuation methodologies, inviting regulatory scrutiny.[38]
Financials
According to RedSeer, it has the largest payments platform in India with a gross merchant value of Rs 4,033 billion in the financial year 2021.[39] According to its annual 2021 report, One97's revenue from operations dropped 14% to Rs 2,802 crore for FY 2021. However, losses narrowed to Rs 1,701 crore during this year, compared to Rs 2,942 crore loss reported in the fiscal year 2020.[40]
One97 Communications reduced losses by 28% to Rs 2,833 crore in the FY 2019-20. Its overall expenses were reduced by 20% in 2019-20 to Rs 5,861 crore compared to Rs 7,254 crore in 2019-18. Its revenue also declined 1% to Rs 3,350 crore in FY20.[41]
Awards and recognition
In August 2009, One97 Communications was awarded the Emerging Company of The Year at the 10th Annual Voice&Data Award 2009 for its contribution to the VAS space.[42] In the same year, it was also awarded the Deloitte Technology Fast50 India award in 2009.[43] In December 2010, One97 Communications won the Best Digital Innovation category for its 'TalktoMe' product at IAMAI's Digital Awards by the Internet and Mobile Association of India.[44] It won Company of the Year at ET Now-IndiaMART Leaders of Tomorrow Awards 2010.[45] In May 2011, One97's product Talk2Me was awarded the Best Innovative VAS Product at the ET Telecom Awards by The Economic Times.[46] One97 Communications was ranked #493 in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific list in 2012.[47] The company was awarded the VCCircle Annual Awards 2013 for the best PE/VC-backed Media & Communication Company.[48]
In March 2014, One97 was announced as the Most Innovative Company of the Year 2014 at the Business Standard's Awards.[49] In July 2015, it won NDTV's Disruptive Digital Innovator Award.[50] The company was ranked #309 in the list of Fortune Next 500 company for the year 2017.[4]
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