Zomato's $100 million investment escalates Grofers into unicorn
Food delivery giant Zomato, which is operational to discover public markets later this year, has reached an agreement to invest $100 million in online grocer Grofers for about a 10 percent stake. The proposed investment values the seven-year-old startup Grofers, which counts SoftBank as its largest investor, at over $1 billion.
The report, states, “Zomato's proposed investment is part of a broader round, in which others including Tiger Global and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 are expected to chip in some capital."
Zomato, states, "It had no comment to make, citing sources. The leadership teams at Grofers and Zomato have long been close friends and began exploring this investment earlier this year.”
Both the companies are also open to the idea of Zomato procuring a majority stake in Grofers in the coming quarters, though a decision hasn't been reached and won't be fully explored until Zomato becomes a publicly-traded company.
Zomato, which procured Uber's Indian food delivery business early, last year, has told some of its main investors that it envisions a prospect where the firm has extended much ahead of the food liberation category. Grofers has witnessed a sharp rush in its fame in the past year as numerous Indian states enforced strict lockdown restrictions to contain the spread of the virus.