Ant Financial will see its stake touch almost 29%, making it the largest shareholder in Zomato, ahead of InfoEdge. It has been backing Zomato since it picked up a 14.7% stake in February last year.
Zomato is finalising a fresh $600-million round of fundraising may be led by existing Chinese investor and Alibaba affiliate, Ant Financial, said two people aware of the matter.
Singapore’s sovereign fund Temasek is also expected to put in a significant amount of capital as part of the fund infusion that will further intensify the battle between Zomato and Swiggy, according to people familiar with the matter.
Zomato’s valuation may cross $3 billion in the new funding round, these people said. That would imply a hefty bump-up over the $2-billion valuation at which it raised funds earlier this year.
Ant Financial will see its stake touch almost 29%, making it the largest shareholder in Zomato, ahead of InfoEdge, people briefed on the matter told ET.
Zomato to raise $600 Mn at over $3 Bn valuation@ZomatoIN#foodtech #Unicorn #funding #valuation https://t.co/td4E2ZEd7Q
— Entrackr (@entrackr) October 4, 2019
Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial has been backing Zomato since it picked up a 14.7% stake in February last year. It followed that up by raising its stake to 23% in November last year, regulatory filings show.
Rival Swiggy’s largest investor Naspers holds almost 40% stake in the Bengaluru-based firm.
Zomato is finalising a fresh $600-million round of fundraising likely to be led by existing Chinese investor, Ant Financial @AditiS90 @samidhas https://t.co/u4x9u6mMOb
— ETtech (@ETtech) October 4, 2019
A person aware of the ongoing talks said that, while Ant Financial is leading the round and pumping in about $200 million, the rest of the capital is coming from existing backers like Temasek and others. A bunch of hedge funds may pool in about $150-200 million as well.
Responding to ET’s query, a Zomato spokesperson said that we are raising a round to fuel our ambitions in food delivery, dining out and sustainability, at this stage we cannot disclose any further details.
There has been talk of Zomato not being in favour of racking up more funds from Ant Financial, previously Alipay, fearing that deal terms may be loaded in favour of the Chinese investor.
ET had reported on August 12 that Ant Financial exercised veto rights on all matters when it invested in the restaurant recommendation platform last year, according to Zomato’s regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies.
