Zomato raises ₹284 cr in fresh round
NEW DELHI: Food-tech startup Zomato Media Pvt. Ltd has raised ₹284 crore ($40 million) from US’s Glade Brook Capital Partners, according to documents accessed from business intelligence platform Paper.vc.
The food delivery company last raised $210 million from existing investor Ant Financial in October, valuing Zomato at $2 billion.
Zomato is locked in an expensive battle with arch-rival Swiggy, which had raised $1 billion from Naspers Ltd, with participation from China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd in December.
The round saw Swiggy’s valuation shoot up to $3.3 billion.
Gurugram-based Zomato is also in talks to sell its UAE busicut-throat ness for $200-250 million to Germany’s Delivery Hero, according to a report in The Times of India.
With the food-delivery war intensifying, Zomato is scouting for more investments and is already in talks to raise $500 million-$1 billion in a new round from Chinese private equity major Primavera Capital and existing investor Alibaba’s payment affiliate, The Economic
Times reported in January. Despite investors becoming wary of the food tech sector, top companies, including Zomato and Swiggy, have been on a fundraising spree to win share in a and hyper-competitive market.
Swiggy, which is entering the hyper-local delivery space, made its first acqui-hire by picking up artificial intelligence startup Kint.io, Mint reported on February 4.
The food-tech sector, which, not so long ago, saw capital erosion given its poor economics, has bounced back on the back of entrants such as Uber Eats and Ola’s acquisition of Foodpanda.
Zomato is currently present in 24 countries and generates revenue from advertising and food delivery. The company’s revenue grew 40% to ₹466 crore in the year ended March 2018. It also narrowed its losses to ₹106 crore against ₹390 crore in the previous fiscal year, according to financial documents sourced from data research platform Tofler.