Ant Financial re-ups in India's Zomato
Indian restaurant discovery and food delivery platform Zomato has raised $210 million from existing investor Ant Financial, the financial services affiliate of China’s Alibaba Group.
The investment consisted entirely of primary shares, according to a disclosure by Info Edge, which will see its own shareholding in Zomato drop from 30.9% to 27.7% as a result of the transaction. According to Indian media reports, Ant Financial is raising its stake by about 10%, valuing the business at approximately $2 billion.
Ant Financial was reported to have invested $200 million in Zomato in February, of which about $150 million was in primary shares and the rest came from other investors. At the time the investor was believed to have taken an 18% stake, valuing Zomato at $1.1 billion. Subsequently Ant Financial reportedly secured the right to replace Info Edge as Zomato’s largest shareholder.
Zomato was launched in 2008 and has built up a global footprint across 10,000 cities in 24 countries. The platform allows users to look up menus, directions, and restaurant reviews, reserve tables, and order food online. Last week the company claimed it had reached 21 monthly food orders in India, up from 3.5 million at the beginning of the year.
The company also provides customer engagement and management tools for restaurant owners such as the Whitelabel platform, which allows restaurant partners to launch customized mobile apps.
Along with Info Edge, Zomato’s investors include Vy Capital and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, which committed $60 million to the company in 2015. Sequoia Capital has also invested in Zomato, according to AVCJ Research.
Zomato’s biggest competitor is Swiggy, which raised $210 million in its latest funding round this year led by Naspers and DST Global at a reported valuation of $1.2 billion. Like Zomato, Swiggy is also backed by a Chinese internet giant – in this case online-to-offline (O2O) local services provider Meituan-Dianping, which participated in the company’s $100 million Series F round in February.
More on South Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.