Vijay Shekhar Sharma reappointed as MD -; CEO by Paytm shareholders

22 Aug 2022 , 08:24 AM

The parent company of digital payments solutions provider Paytm, One 97 Communications Ltd., reported that 99.67% of its shareholders who cast ballots supported the resolution to re-appoint founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma as managing director of the business for another five years, from December 19, 2022, to December 18, 2027.

According to Paytm, all seven resolutions were duly approved with more than 94% of the voting. Among them were Sharma’s pay for the following three fiscal years, the reappointment of Madhur Deora as executive director, president, and chief financial officer of the company, and Ravi Adusumalli, co-managing partner of early investor Elevation Capital, as a director of the company. The AGM did not cover these topics.

The change occurred as a result of recommendations by three advisory firms, namely Institutional Investor Advisory Services India (IIAS), InGovern, and Stakeholders Empowerment Services, that shareholders should not vote to re-elect Sharma as the company’s CEO and managing director.

“Vijay Shekhar Sharma had previously pledged to make the business profitable, but they have not materialized. We think the board should take professionalizing the management into consideration “In a message to shareholders, IIAS made a statement.

Sharma maintained that his employee stock option grant would not vest until the company’s share price crossed that of the original public offering at Paytm’s first annual general meeting, which was held on August 19.

He said that Paytm was on target to become operationally profitable by September of next year while speaking at the company’s first annual general meeting held remotely as a listed company.

On Friday, Paytm’s shares closed at Rs771.85 on the BSE, down 1.86% from the previous day and 64% less than the company’s initial public offering (IPO) price of Rs2,150 per share. But since their low of Rs511 on May 12 of this year, they have increased by more than 50%.