Ant Group’s Douglas Feagin resigns from Paytm Board

Douglas Feagin, Senior Vice President at Ant Group, has resigned as Non- Executive, Non-Independent Director on the board of Paytm Group, the fintech company said in an exchange filing Friday. 

China-headquartered Alibaba Group’s firm Ant Financial holds around 25% stake in the company.  

Feagin had joined the Paytm board in June 2021, ahead of its initial public offering worth $2.3 billion. He had stepped in after Ant Group Chairman and Chief Executive Jing Xiandong put down his papers along with five other senior executives, following which the company’s board underwent a major reshuffle.  

“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,” Feagin’s resignation letter reads. 

Alibaba Group last month sold around 3% stake in Paytm for Rs 1,031 crore through a block deal. Its affiliate Ant Financial, however, did not dilute its stake in Paytm and continues to hold around 25% stake in the company. Alibaba held a 6.26% stake in the firm as of September 2022.

In January, Paytm had reported to exchanges that it disbursed 3.7 million loans worth Rs 3,665 crore in December, up 330% year-on-year.

For the December quarter, its total disbursements jumped 357% to Rs 9,958 crore. Monthly transacting users jumped 32% to 85 million in December from 65 million a year earlier. Gross merchandise value processed through the platform increased 38% year-on-year in December to Rs 3.64 lakh crore.

Paytm stocks were trading 1.37% lower at Rs 538.40 apiece in early trading Friday, while the broader Nifty and Sensex indices were marginally higher.