SoftBank sells 1.09% in Zomato for Rs 1,040 crore; Goldman, ADIA buy stake

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

SoftBank, through its affiliate SVF Growth Singapore Pte, has sold a 1.09% stake in food delivery company Zomato through block deals on Friday.

According to exchange data, the transaction was executed at 111.2 per share, which valued the deal at 1,040 crore. SoftBank holds a 2.17% stake in the company, at the end of the September 2023 quarter.

Marquee funds, including Citigroup, Axis MF, Bandhan MF, ADIA, Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Motilal Oswal among others bought stakes in the company through the deal.

In August this year, SoftBank offloaded about 1.17% Zomato stake under a block deal, which was valued at Rs 947 crore.

Back then, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Kotak Mahindra MF, Invesco MF, Goldman Sachs, Franklin Templeton MF, Avendus, and Societe Generale, among others picked up the stake.

SoftBank has been paring its stake in Zomato as the lock-in for the post-Blinkit deal ended in August. As of June end, the Japanese investor, through its affiliate, held 3.35%.

Zomato issued fresh equity shares to all the selling shareholders of Blinkit as consideration for the M&A last year.

Following the transaction, Zomato negotiated a 12-month lock-in for these shares, compared to the statutory lock-in requirement of six months.

A majority of these shares are owned by just three venture capital investors, namely, Softbank, Sequoia, and Tiger Global.

On Friday, Zomato shares closed nearly 1.84% higher at Rs 113.70 on NSE. Analysts remain positive on the stock on positive developments in the Blinkit business.

«I think the food delivery business is growing steadily.

And at some point, maybe 8-10 quarters down the line, it will be a solid contribution to the profitability of the company. From an investment