One97 Communications, the parent company of fintech giant Paytm, witnessed significant market activity this Friday as one of its earliest and longest-serving investors, Elevation Capital, executed a partial exit.

Through a sizable bulk deal executed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the venture capital firm trimmed its holding in the Noida-headquartered payments company.

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According to official data available on the NSE, Elevation Capital offloaded a total of nearly 3.4 million equity shares of One97 Communications. The shares were sold at an average market price of ₹459.24 per piece.

The cumulative value of this transaction stands at approximately ₹155.65 crore (roughly $18.6 million). Following the transaction, Paytm’s shares closed the Friday trading session at ₹465.35 on the NSE, marking a slight dip of 1.49%.

This transaction holds particular significance given Elevation Capital’s deep history with the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company. The VC firm is recognized as the longest-serving backer of Paytm, having supported the fintech firm through various evolutionary phases.

A “bulk deal” is defined as a transaction where the total quantity of shares bought or sold amounts to more than 0.5% of the listed company’s equity shares. These deals are closely monitored by retail and institutional investors as indicators of big-money sentiment toward a stock.

Elevation Capital’s move comes amidst a recovery period for Paytm following significant regulatory headwinds faced by its associate entity, Paytm Payments Bank, from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) earlier this year.

Furthermore, this latest transaction follows the complete exit of another major foreign investor, SoftBank. In June, SoftBank fully divested its stake in Paytm, reportedly taking a cumulative loss on its investment over the years after gradually reducing its holding for several quarters.

While venture capital firms periodically exit investments to return capital to their limited partners (LPs), continued sales by prominent early backers add supply to the market as the company works to regain its operational momentum post-crisis.