Swiggy packs an IPO lunch for Instamart

livemint.com:

SoftBank, which had booked profits in recent IPOs of Ola Electric, Firstcry and Unicommerce, is expected to stay put, the person said on the condition of anonymity. The IPO, one of the most anticipated this year, is expected to open in November. Norwest and Prosus are among the early investors in Swiggy.

Goldman Sachs came on board in 2021, when Swiggy was valued at around $5 billion. Softbank followed the next year. Prosus declined to offer a comment, while queries emailed to Swiggy and the other investors remained unanswered.

Prosus is booking a profit from Swiggy at a time when it has written off over $500 million in Byju's, potentially redeeming itself as a technology investor in India. Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi was CEO of Latin American food tech company iFood till last quarter. Apart from the share sale by existing investors, Swiggy also plans to raise primary capital at a valuation of around $15 billion in the IPO, though a final valuation will become clearer as the road shows get under way.

Swiggy will use most of the fresh funds to double its network of dark stores serving groceries and home essentials to more than 1,000 over the next four years as it deepens presence in several cities. "These dark stores are also likely to be larger in size, with the ability to hold a lot more stock-keeping units," the person said. Swiggy's IPO plans come at a time its closest peer Zomato has rapidly integrated BlinkIt, its quick commerce acquisition.

In March 2024, Zomato said it achieved adjusted Ebitda profitability in quick commerce. The company defines adjusted Ebitda for its quick-commerce business as Ebitda along with expenses on account of share-based payments, and excluding rental payouts on certain leases. The