BENGALURU: The initial public offering (IPO) of Indian meal delivery business Zomato is priced at 72 to 76 rupees per share, giving it a valuation of up to US$7.98 billion, the company said on Thursday, as it capitalizes on a pandemic-driven rise in online orders. According to a filing https://www.bseindia.com/downloads/ipo/Zomato RHP 07072021200, Zomato, backed by China’s Ant Group and one of India’s most prominent startups, said its offer will include a fresh issue of shares worth up to 90 billion rupees and a share sale worth up to 3.75 billion rupees by top shareholder Info Edge (India), bringing the total offering to 93.75 billion rupees (
Zomato’s market valuation rises to 596.23 billion rupees (US$7.98 billion) at the top end of the price range, with subscriptions slated to open on July 14.
Zomato, which was founded in 2008, collects restaurant evaluations and delivers meals to customers’ homes, making it a competitor to Swiggy, which is financed by Accel, and Amazon.com’s food delivery service.
“While we had a foothold across 23 countries outside of India as of March 31, 2021,” Zomato noted in its prospectus, “we have made a clear strategic decision to focus primarily on the Indian market going ahead.”
In India, the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak has led many customers to order food online, a trend that has benefited companies like Zomato and its competitors.
In late April, the company filed for an initial public offering (IPO).
“We believe things are going to look good for Zomato in the short term in terms of valuation, financials, and future business possibilities,” said Shikher Jain, manager, fundamental stock research at Anand Rathi in Mumbai.
Another well-known Indian company, Oyo Hotels, warned on Wednesday that impending IPOs would be rigorously scrutinized as the SoftBank-backed hospitality firm considers a potential listing.
(One US dollar equals 74.7840 Indian rupees)
(In Bengaluru, Chandini Monnappa and Anuron Kumar Mitra reported; Subhranshu Sahu and Shailesh Kuber edited.)/n
