Vijay Shekhar Sharma-controlled Resilient Asset Management B.V. has proposed selling up to 4.98% of One 97 Communications Ltd through a block market trade valued at approximately ₹4,895 crore ($513 million). The transaction includes a base offering of 19.2 million shares (3% stake) worth ₹2,949 crore and an upsize option for an additional 12.7 million shares (1.98% stake) valued at ₹1,946 crore. The floor price has been set at ₹1,535.10 per share—a mere 0.7% discount to the current market price of around ₹1,546.
This follows Elevation Capital's partial exit on August 4, where the venture capital firm sold 23.5 million shares representing 3.67% of Paytm for approximately ₹2,038 crore ($200 million). The shares were acquired by 19 institutional investors including National Pension System Trust, Axis Mutual Fund, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs. The timing is striking: Paytm's stock has rallied over 70% since March 2026, trading near 54-month highs with a market capitalization of approximately ₹1,01,186 crore ($10.6 billion).
Here's where it gets interesting. While Resilient is executing the sale, the economic benefits won't flow to Sharma. The block sale is being conducted under an existing Optionally Convertible Debenture (OCD) agreement between Resilient and Antfin (Netherlands) Holding B.V. In August 2023, Resilient acquired approximately 10.20% of Paytm from Antfin against OCDs—but while legal ownership transferred to Resilient, the economic interest continued to belong to Antfin. Others
This means Sharma's direct shareholding remains unchanged, and he derives no direct economic benefit from this $513 million transaction. It's essentially Antfin's orderly exit, structured through Sharma's Netherlands-registered entity to navigate regulatory complexities around Chinese technology investments in India.
On July 20, Paytm's board reviewed a proposal for the company's first-ever bonus share issue—and decided not to proceed.
This decision makes sense when you consider the numbers.
EBITDA margins expanded from 4% to 8% year-on-year, with management targeting 15-20% long-term margins. The company achieved its highest-ever quarterly EBITDA of ₹203 crore, driven by accelerating growth in payments and financial services. InvestorPresentations +1
When a company is delivering this kind of operational momentum, capitalizing reserves through bonus shares seems redundant. The board chose to preserve flexibility for growth investments rather than pursue cosmetic capital structure changes.
Paytm isn't an isolated case. Shadowfax Technologies witnessed Eight Roads, Flipkart, and IMM India Fund sell a combined 13.8% stake worth ₹1,654 crore through block deals on July 27, just days after the six-month lock-in for major pre-IPO investors expired. The floor price was set at ₹197 per share, a 9.87% discount to the closing price of ₹218.58. Shadowfax had delivered remarkable Q4 FY26 results: revenue grew 74% year-on-year to ₹1,237 crore, and the company swung from a ₹10 crore loss to a ₹56 crore profit.
Lenskart saw even more activity. On June 3, SoftBank sold a 3.25% stake for ₹2,873 crore through a block deal—roughly a seven-fold return on its 2021 investment. This was followed by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund selling a 2.3% stake for approximately ₹1,944 crore, and then Temasek offloading 2% for ₹1,940 crore on July 14. These sales came after Lenskart's six-month lock-in expired on May 8, unlocking 60% of the company's outstanding equity worth around ₹51,573 crore.
India is experiencing one of the largest lock-in expiry waves in recent history. Between May and August 2026, shares worth nearly ₹2.3 lakh crore ($27-34 billion) across 11-79 newly listed companies are becoming tradable. Major unlocks include Groww (₹78,808 crore), Lenskart (₹49,951 crore), Pine Labs (₹15,019 crore), Meesho (₹59,130 crore), and Shadowfax (₹6,300 crore).
The correlation between lock-in expirations and block deal timing is striking. Lenskart saw block deals launched on the very day its lock-in expired (May 8), followed by staggered sales over the next two months. Shadowfax's block deal was announced on July 23, the exact day its lock-in expired, with execution occurring on July 27. This isn't coincidence—it's strategic planning.
Several factors explain why early investors are choosing secondary market exits now. First, valuation cycles have turned favorable. The Nifty 500 is up nearly 12% from March 30, the Nifty Midcap 150 has risen 17%, and the Nifty Smallcap 250 has surged 23.5%. Paytm's 70%+ rally since March, Shadowfax's stock nearly doubling from its IPO listing price, and Lenskart trading at levels supporting seven-fold returns for early investors all represent optimal exit points.
Second, operational maturity has been demonstrated across these companies. Paytm's 207% surge in adjusted net profit, Shadowfax's turnaround from loss to profitability, and Lenskart's 46% revenue growth to ₹2,516 crore all provide fundamental validation for monetization. The transition from growth-at-all-costs to sustainable profitability reduces execution risk and supports higher valuation multiples.
Third, institutional demand has proven robust.
Domestic mutual funds, flush with steady SIP inflows, have been active buyers alongside global institutions seeking exposure to Indian growth stories.
Paytm's 207% surge in adjusted net profit (excluding PIDF incentives) is particularly significant as a market maturity signal. It demonstrates that new-age technology companies can achieve sustainable profitability at scale, reducing information asymmetry between early and new investors. This profitability enables exit at optimal multiples, attracts broader institutional interest, and creates earnings power visibility. InvestorPresentations
The participation of high-quality institutional buyers including NPS Trust, Axis Mutual Fund, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs provides validation of the fundamental story.
This trend represents a structural evolution in India's startup ecosystem. Early investors can now monetize through secondary markets before IPOs, reducing pressure on companies to list prematurely. Companies can time IPOs based on business readiness rather than investor urgency. The ownership structure is transitioning from concentrated early-stage holdings to diversified institutional bases, creating more stable shareholder profiles.
For Paytm specifically, the reduction in Resilient's stake from 10.20% to potentially 5.22% progressively eliminates the Chinese ownership overhang that has weighed on valuation. The block sales are transferring shares from early-stage investors to long-term institutional holders, creating a cleaner ownership structure.
The board's decision to prioritize growth over bonus shares, combined with strong operational performance, creates a virtuous cycle: growth investments drive operational performance, strong performance supports valuations, attractive valuations enable orderly monetization, and clean ownership structures reduce overhang to support long-term value.
This isn't about loss of confidence—it's about strategic monetization at optimal points in the valuation cycle, supported by fundamental strength and institutional demand. India's new-age technology sector is growing up, and these secondary market exits are proof.
