Paytm's much-anticipated Initial Public Offering (IPO) has garnered interest from a set of new investors, including US-based asset manager Alkeon Capital as well as funds managed by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, sources aware of the matter told ET.

The new investors join a list of bidders that are in talks to invest in Paytm’s anchor investment as well as its IPO.

ET reported last week that Canada's CPPIB continues to be in talks with the Noida-based payment firm's anchor investment slot, sources confirmed.

Besides the new investors, funds from Europe have also evinced interest in its $2.2 billion IPO, billed as one of the largest public issues in the country in over a decade.

“Some of the European funds who were looking to invest in Ant Group’s IPO, which was later scrapped by the Chinese government, have also held talks with Paytm owing to the digital payments boom in India,” a person aware of the matter said.

“Alkeon is in talks with Paytm and is looking to pick up shares through anchor allotment as well as during the IPO. While the valuation has yet to be finalised, they are garnering strong interest from institutional investors from the United States and Europe,” the person added.

Industry sources said $24 billion could still prove to be an aggressive estimate, but Paytm has been signalling valuation expectations of around $20-$22 billion.

The company was last valued at $16 billion after it raised $1 billion from investors like T Rowe Price and existing ones such as Japan’s SoftBank and the Ant Group.

Sources said Paytm is expecting the regulator’s approval soon and is racing to be a publicly listed entity before Diwali, which falls on November 4.
Last week, ET reported that sovereign wealth funds and financial investors such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Singapore's GIC, and BlackRock are in talks to invest in Paytm as anchor investors.

Paytm had also kept a window for a pre-IPO round of around $270 million, or Rs 2,000 crore, but that seems unlikely now, sources aware of the current thinking in Paytm said.

The IPO is equally split between fresh issuance of shares and secondary share sale (offer for sale or OFS). Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, SoftBank, Ant Group and Elevation Capital are listed as selling shareholders, who will sell a part of their holding in the company in the OFS.

Paytm’s draft red herring prospectus had said 75% of its public issue will be earmarked for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), while 15% is for non-institutional investors and the balance 10% for  retail investors. Up to 60% of the QIB portion may be allotted to anchor investors.

After online food delivery firm Zomato’s stellar debut on the bourses in July, Paytm’s IPO is being seen as the next big moment for the startup ecosystem.

Sebi is believed to have sent queries to the company and Paytm had reverted as well. The window for Sebi to seek additional comments remains open.