Berkshire confirms investment in Paytm; Buffett not involved

US-based Berkshire Hathaway on Monday confirmed that it has made an investment in Paytm’s parent firm One97 Communications, ETNow reported.

The company led by legendary investor Warren Buffett confirmed to the channel that the investment has been made. Berkshire, however, clarified that it was not a transaction in which Warren Buffett was involved.

ET had reported this morning that Berkshire was in talks to invest about Rs 2,000-2,500 crore in the Paytm parent firm, in what could be the first direct investment in India by the legendary investor.


The development comes as Paytm is diversifying its business across financial services and offline payments.

Paytm also counts Alibaba Group Holdings and SoftBank as major backers.

Todd Combs, one of Berkshire’s key fund managers and who is also seen as a potential chief investment officer at the firm, is said to have led the transaction, ET reported.

This is first investment by Berkshire, which until a few years ago stayed away from even listed technology companies, in a privately-held company that still incurs heavy losses, underlining the potential that the firm sees in India’s technology market.