douglas feagin resigns: Ant Group nominee Douglas Feagin steps down from Paytm board

Douglas Feagin, who was the nominee of China’s Ant Group on the board of One 97 Communications, the parent entity of Noida-based fintech company Paytm, has resigned from his position of non-executive non-independent director with effect from Thursday, according to stock exchange filings.

Feagin serves as the senior vice-president of the Ant Group, the financial services affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Ant Group holds 24.86% stake in One 97 Communications.

“Paytm’s journey to achieving profitable financial services of scale in India has been inspiring. In recognition of the company’s growth as a publicly-listed company and the maturity of the business, at the request of the nominating shareholder, I hereby resign from my position as a director on the board of directors of Paytm. I remain confident in Paytm’s management team and wish for their continued success,” Feagin wrote in his resignation letter dated February 2.

Feagin also served on the nomination and remuneration committee of the board of One 97 Communications, as well its stakeholder relationship committee. He had joined the Paytm board in June 2021, prior to the company’s initial public offering. He replaced Ant Group chairman and CEO Jing Xiandong.

Last month, the Alibaba Group sold 19.2 million shares in One 97 Communications, representing a 3% stake, for Rs 1,031 crore. Now, the Chinese internet conglomerate holds a 6.26% stake in the company.

At Friday noon, shares of Paytm traded 2.91% lower on the BSE at Rs 529.90. The announcement of Feagin’s resignation has come on the day Paytm will declare its quarterly earnings for the three-month period ended December 31, 2022.For the September-quarter, the company has reported a net loss of Rs 571.5 crore for the July-September quarter, widening from Rs 473.5 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations had jumped 76% in the quarter ended September 30 to Rs 1,914 crore, mainly on account of a surge in loan disbursals.

Paytm shares were listed in November 2021 at Rs 1,950 apiece, a 9% discount to the issue price of Rs 2,150. The Rs 18,300-crore IPO was launched in early November with a price band of Rs 2,080 to Rs 2,150 per share.

In March last year, Paytm had informed the exchanges that SoftBank‘s Munish Varma, along with his alternate director Vikas Agnihotri, had stepped down from the board of the company. Sources aware of the development had said this was in line with SoftBank’s policy of stepping down from the boards of portfolio companies once they go public.

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