Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway to invest in Paytm parent firm: Report

Berkshire Hathaway Inc is in talks to invest about 20-25 billion rupees ($285.4-356.7 million) in India's One97 Communications Ltd, the parent of digital payments firm Paytm, the Economic Times reported on Monday.

Berkshire, the conglomerate run by billionaire Warren Buffett, is said to pick up a 3-4 per cent stake in Paytm's parent and the deal is being done through a primary subscription of shares, the paper said citing people familiar with the matter.

If materialised, it could be the first direct investment in India by Buffett, it said.

One of Berkshire's key fund managers, Todd Combs, who is also seen as a potential chief investment officer at the company, is leading the transaction, the newspaper reported.

Incumbent distributors confident despite talks of Paytm's MF foray

The widely heralded Jio moment of the mutual fund industry is right around the corner. Paytm is set to go live with its mutual fund distribution platform, Paytm Money, anytime this month. However, mutual fund distributors, which at the last count accounted for Rs 1.8 trillion of industry assets, are confident that there is no need for them to reshuffle their business model and reiterated the importance of timely advice for investors.

“Those just looking for transaction convenience and parking surplus funds on a temporary basis would get drawn to platforms like Paytm Money. However, serious investors with long-term horizons would continue to prefer platforms like ours where they can get timely and customized advice. We are going to stick to our business model despite what the competition is doing,” said Srikanth Meenakshi, co-founder and chief operating officer of online FundsIndia.

The Chennai-based firm has among the highest assets under management (AUM) of Rs 43 billion when it comes to digital-only platforms, earning Rs 496 million in distribution commissions in 2017-18.The widely heralded Jio moment of the mutual fund industry is right around the corner. Paytm is set to go live with its mutual fund distribution platform, Paytm Money, anytime this month. However, mutual fund distributors, which at the last count accounted for Rs 1.8 trillion of industry assets, are confident that there is no need for them to reshuffle their business model and reiterated the importance of timely advice for investors.