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Berkshire Hathaway, the Warren Buffet-owned investment major, has sold its entire stake in One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, at a loss of over Rs 506 crore. 

In a large block deal, Berkshire’s unit BH International Holdings sold 1.56 crore shares (2.46% of equity) worth nearly Rs 1,370 crore at an average share price of Rs 877.29, according to NSE data on Friday. 

The stake was bought by Ghisallo Master Fund and Copthall Mauritius Investment, who picked up 42,75,000 (0.67%) and 75,75,529 shares (1.19%), respectively.

Buffett had picked up a stake in Paytm back in 2018 and invested nearly Rs 2,200 crore. It was the billionaire investor’s first investment in any Indian company. The round had pegged Paytm’s valuation at about $10-12 billion.

Earlier, during Paytm’s IPO in 2021, BH International Holdings sold more than 1.4 million shares for Rs 301.7 crore.

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One 97 Communications Ltd’s share price settled at Rs 895 apiece, down 3.08%, on the NSE on Friday. 

Another investor Softbank has been trimming its stake in the firm since last year, and has brought it down to below 10%. It is planning to gradually sell its holdings in Paytm as it intends to exit the company completely, as per reports.

China’s Alibaba Group had also sold a 3.16% stake in Paytm through the open market in a Rs 1,378 crore deal in February. With this deal, Alibaba has sold its entire direct stake in the company.

Paytm recorded a 32% jump in revenue to Rs 2,519 crore in the July-September quarter (Q2 FY24) while narrowing down its losses to Rs 292 crore. Its net loss in the year-ago period was Rs 571.5 crore.