Warren Buffett’s whos is the second largest Billionarie on the planet and is also the founder of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is also set to buy a small stake in One97 Communications Ltd, which is just the parent of Paytm, which is making it the billionaire investor’s first investment in an Indian company,
According to two people aware of the development. Paytm, which is the India’s largest payment services provider, has been in talks with Berkshire Hathaway since the month of February to raise an amount of ₹ 2,200- 2,500 crore ($300-350 million) at a valuation of about $10-12 billion, the two people cited above said on condition of anonymity.
An email to Berkshire Hathaway did not elicit a response. A Paytm spokesperson did not respond to an email seeking comment in the news or has also not disclosed any of the thing as of now.
The deal, which is likely to be announced soon in the coming days as of now, will be Berkshire Hathaway’s first investment in the country’s buzzing startup ecosystem and also with the startup India and Standup India. It will also be the company’s first investment in a privately-held technology company in the world.
In the past, Berkshire Hathaway has selectively invested in some publicly listed tech companies, and which is also the largest IT company on the planet that is International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. and Apple. Berkshire recently exited IBM, but still owns some of the stocks of Apple.
In the month of May, several publications reported that Berkshire Hathaway tried to invest in ride-hailing firm Uber. However, the talks were not successful.
Buffett, known as the Oracle of Omaha, did set up Berkshire India in the year 2011 and partnered with Bajaj Allianz to sell insurance.
The company which is founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in the year 2000, One97 started out as a mobile payments and mobile recharge business and currently ranks among the top three consumer internet companies in the country as of now.
