29 November 2017, India:
According to reports, Softbank is in planning to invest around $200 million – $250 million in Bengaluru based food delivery platform Swiggy.
Softbank is looking to pick up a minority stake in the food deliver startup in exchange of $200 million – $250 million. The investment is likely to take place at a pre-money valuation of $600 million – $650 million.
A spokesperson for Swiggy stated, “Swiggy garners continuos interest from investors due to our market leadership position, strong growth and financial performance. We remain focused on delivering exceptional value to consumers, and will comment on fundraises at the opportune time.”
Other firms are also planning to invest in Swiggy. According to ET report, Tencent is planning to invest additional $50 million. Tencent has already proposed to invest $50 million in the food delivery platform. If this deal is successful, Tencent’s total investment in the online food delivery platform will be $100 million.
And that is not the end of investors list. Jack Ma led Alibaba has also expressed interest in investing into the food delivery platform through its payments arm Ant Financial.
Alibaba is also engaged into investment talks with Zomato, which is one of the main competitors of Swiggy. Some reports has showed that Alibaba can invest $200 million in Zomato.
With these investment, Alibaba is trying to be establish them-self in the growing Indian internet ecosystem. It will help Alibaba to challenge its rival Tencent and Naspers.
Softbank declined to comment on this matter and called it a “speculation”. Tencent and Alibaba have not responded yet.
Earlier this year in May, Swiggy raised $80 million in a funding round led by Naspers. Existing investors Accel India, SAIF Partners India, Bessemer Venture Partners, Harmony Partners and Norwest Venture Partners also participated in the round.
Many reports related to Swiggy had flashed in recent times. In October, a report stated that Indian e-retail firm Flipkart has initiated acquisition talks with Swiggy. Then, in November a report stated that Flipkart can invest $50 million.
Right now, Swiggy holds the largest market share in the online ordering industry in India. The company was founded in 2014 by Sriharsha Majety, Nandan Reddy and Rahul Jaimini, and so far it has raised about $154 million in six series of funding.
Currently, the company is functional in more than 10 cities in India. It has partnered with about 20,000 restaurants.
(Image – Venture Dreams)
