Berkshire Hathaway invests in One97 Communications

Berkshire Hathaway bought a stake in the company behind Paytm, India’s biggest digitalpayments brand, in the conglomerate’s first foray into the country’s start-ups.

Warren Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and chief executive, wasn’t directly involved in the investment in One97 Communications, his assistant, Debbie Bosanek, said on Monday. Berkshire is set to acquire 3-4 per cent of One97 in a deal that values the target at more than $10 billion, sources said. Bosanek declined to comment on the size of the investment.

One97, founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, runs the Paytm brand and is the leading player in the digital-payments market. Berkshire joins a highprofile group that’s invested in Sharma’s firms, including SoftBank, Alibaba Group Holding and Ant Financial. One97 declined to comment.

Sharma got a huge boost in 2016 after the government moved to eliminate most of the nation’s paper money. His fledgling start-up saw tens of millions of consumers and hundreds of thousands of businesses sign up for digital services in a matter of months.

“Overnight, we went from a new thing to a must-have,” Sharma said in a 2016 profile.

One97 owns 49 per cent of Paytm Payments Bank. Online retailer Paytm Ecommerce, also founded by Sharma, shares the brand name with One97 and runs the online retail platform Paytm Mall, selling everything from smartphones to fashion.

Buffett, who turns 88 this week, long focused on value investing and shied away from tech firms because of what he joked were his own “intellectual shortcomings” in understanding the field. But hehas adapted in recent years and piled into newer holdings such as Apple. He considered an investment in Uber earlier this year.