Paytm’s 75% slump is world’s worst for large IPOs in a decade: Report

One 97 Communications Ltd., the operator of India’s largest digital-payments provider known as Paytm, has capped the worst first-year share plunge among large IPOs over the past decade — and the pain is worsening.

The company, whose founder compared its challenges to those faced by Tesla Inc. shortly after the listing, has seen its stock erase 75% of its market value one year after its $2.4 billion offering, the largest on record at the time in India. The dive is the steepest first-year slide globally among IPOs that raised at least the same amount since Spain’s Bankia SA’s 82% drop in 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Paytm’s grim first anniversary underscores an erosion of confidence in its ability to become profitable after debuting at a time when India’s IPO market was enamoured with tech startups. It’s one among a slew of startups that listed with valuations seen by many as exaggerated.