CCI approves SoftBank’s $450M investment in Swiggy

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given its nod for a proposed deal involving SoftBank Group entity purchasing a stake in food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy.

SVF II Songbird (DE) LLC would acquire certain shareholding percentage in Bundl Technologies Pvt Ltd, according to a notice filed with the regulator.

SVF belongs to the SoftBank Group and is a newly-incorporated entity set up to make mid to long-term financial investments in companies. Bundl is a private limited company incorporated in India and is engaged in operating Swiggy, as per the notice.

ALSO READ

Swiggy COO Vivek Sunder to step down, founder Sriharsha Majety to take over the role

In a tweet, CCI said it has approved the "proposed acquisition of certain stake in Bundl Technologies (Swiggy) by SVF II Songbird (SoftBank Group entity)".

The approval by CCI is part of the fundraising plans of Swiggy where SoftBank is reportedly looking at investing around $450 million at a valuation of $5 billion. SoftBank had put in a application seeking the approval of CCI for this transaction last month.

According to media reports, this funding round is likely to be an extension of the $800 million round into Swiggy, which had witnessed the participation from investors such as Falcon Edge, Amansa Capital, Think Investments, Carmignac, and Goldman Sachs.

Swiggy also witnessed a few management changes with the chief operating officer Vivek Sundar announcing his departure from the company. At the same time, it announced the elevation of Phani Kishan Addepalli as a co-founder.

These developments come amidst a time when the online food delivery business in India has turned into intense competition between Swiggy and Zomato. Both these players have also extended their services beyond food delivery getting into grocery segment.

At the same time, Zomato is now preparing itself for an initial public offer (IPO) where it is planning to raise Rs 9,375 crore and the issue will hit the market on July 14. The IPO is priced in the range of Rs 72-76 per share.