Zomato has raised $1 billion through a so-called qualified institutional placement, completing its first fundraising since its 2021 IPO.
The food delivery and convenience store giant sold about 336.5 million shares at R252.62 each ($3), according to a stock exchange filing on Friday.
The placement, which opened on November 25 and closed on November 28, saw strong participation from leading domestic funds. Motilal Oswal emerged as the largest investor, with his financial family acquiring 20.81% of the issue. ICICI Prudential funds gained 12.78%, while HDFC and Kotak funds gained 8.68% and 5.95% respectively.
The timing of the capital raise is also strategic, coming just weeks after rival Swiggy’s $1.35 billion IPO earlier this month. Zepto, another leading e-commerce startup, secured $350 million earlier this month in a deal led by Motilal Oswal.
Shares of Swiggy fell 4.1% on Friday, bringing the week’s total to 12.8%. Shares of Zomato, which were offered to investors participating in the QIP at a 5% discount, fell around 1% on Friday, but remain up 127.7% year to date.
Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said last month that the company, which already has $1.3 billion in cash reserves, is looking for more money to stay competitive.
The company, which recently reported its second consecutive quarterly profit, leads India’s instant commerce market with Blinkit, competing against well-funded rivals like Swiggy, Zepto, and BigBasket in a sector expected to generate more than $6.5 billion a year.
This is a developing story. More to follow.
