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Zomato eyes grocery delivery business as it seeks to buy stake in Grofers India
Zomato is also seeking a stake in Hands on Trades Pvt Ltd, a wholesale entity set up by Grofers in 2017.
Zomato, an online aggregator of restaurants and food delivery app, is seeking to acquire a stake in Grofers, an online platform for grocery delivery, the company's filing with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) revealed on Friday. According to the document filed with the central body, Zomato is seeking to acquire 9.3% in the e-grocery company.
The move will allow Zomato to let its users place orders for groceries directly from the app. Grofers and Big Basket are the leading players of the grocery delivery business. If the deal goes through between Zomato and Grofers, they will compete against BigBasket which has a majority stake by the Tata group and Swiggy, one of the largest online food ordering and delivery platforms of the country.
The company is also seeking a stake in Hands on Trades Pvt Ltd, a wholesale entity set up by Grofers in 2017.
"The proposed transaction will have no impact on the competitive landscape in any potentially relevant market in India, in any manner," it said in the notice.
Grofers International is an investment holding company and is the holding company of Grofers India and Hands On Trades, a unit of its parent, the Singapore-based Grofers International Pte Ltd, to procure products from brands and manufacturers. Hands On Trades sells products to the sellers, which in turn sell them to consumers.
Meanwhile, the company is also working to launch its Initial public offering (IPO) in the market. The company filed documents with the markets regulator for an IPO of ₹8,250 crore (or $1.1 billion) through a sale of new and existing shares. It is now awaiting approvals from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Founded in 2010, it values at almost $5.4 billion after concluding its latest fundraising from 10 new investors in February this year.
