Baron Capital raises Swiggy valuation to $15.1B ahead of IPO plans
Baron Capital has boosted Swiggy's valuation to $15.1 billion in anticipation of its IPO, as the quick commerce and food delivery frontrunner closes in on its competitor Zomato.
Swiggy is catching up with its rival Zomato in the valuation race, with US-based asset management firm Baron Capital marking up the valuation of its stake in Swiggy to $109.16 million from its original investment of $76.77 million, as per regulatory filings filed with US Security and Exchange Commission.
Bundl Technologies Pvt Limited, the parent company behind Swiggy, has undergone a series of markups ahead of its IPO plans. It is currently valued at $15.1 billion, nearly 25% higher than the previous assessment of $12.1 billion.
As per Baron, shares of the company “were up during the quarter, driven by increasing penetration of food delivery in India and improving profitability of the company”.
Baron further noted the scope for scaling in India’s food delivery industry mainly led by a growing middle class, rising disposable income, and higher smartphone penetration.
Another investor in Swiggy, Invesco in April marked up the valuation of its holding in the Sriharsha Majety-led company to $12.7 billion, up 18% from its last fundraise that took place in January 2022, regulatory filings showed.
Baron Capital participated in Swiggy’s funding round when the company raised $700 million, valued at $10.7 billion.
In the same filing, Baron Capital also slashed its valuation of its stake in fintech player Pine Labs by nearly 78% to $41.41 million in the January-March 2024 quarter from $74.03 million reported in the previous quarter.
It cited weak share price on account of a “marked slowdown in Pine Labs’ Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) business momentum.” The current stake value is still higher than the original investment of $40 million in Pine Labs.
In April, Swiggy received shareholder approval for its proposed $1.2 billion initial public offering (IPO), according to a filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. As per media reports, the company plans to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP)—a public document listing an IPO-bound company’s objectives for the offer—over the next few months with the IPO by the end of the year.
According to a report by The Economic Times, the food delivery startup plans to raise up to Rs 3,750 crore ($450 million) in fresh capital, as well as an offer-for-sale (OFS) component worth up to Rs 6,664 crore ($800 million) under its public listing plans.
Baron holds a 2.6% stake in the company, while Prosus has a majority shareholding in the company with 31.7%, followed by SoftBank at 8%, and Accel at 6%. According to Traxcn, Swiggy founders hold 6.66% after multiple fundraising rounds.
In February, the company changed its name to Swiggy Private Limited from Bundl Technologies to strengthen the association between the company's corporate identity and its core brand, 'Swiggy', according to the resolution filed with the Registrar of Companies.
Its rival Zomato, which went public in July 2021, posted robust fourth-quarter results mainly pulled by the performance of its quick commerce chain, BlinkIt. Zomato, with a current market capitalisation of Rs 1,548.69 billion, saw its shares close 2.07% lower at Rs 175.45, as per NSE data.
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti