'Early investment in Swiggy paying off', says Prosus

Swiggy plans to list itself on the domestic bourses by the end of this calendar year, providing a hefty exit to its early backer Prosus.

“Our early focus and investment in India is paying off and we are excited to see the potential for Swiggy’s value to be clearly highlighted in the public domain,” said Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi in his '100 Days' letter to investors. 

The Prosus chief also said it expects to see more of its investments in India to IPO in the coming 12-18 months. 

Swiggy, which currently chases Zomato across key metrics including growth, profitability and revenue, is planning to raise Rs 3,750 crore in a fresh issue, along with an offer for sale of 18.52 crore shares from selling stockholders, according to its draft red herring prospectus. 

MIH India Food (Prosus), the largest selling stockholder in the offering, will sell 11.8 crore shares. It currently holds a 32% stake in the Sriharsha Majety-led company. 

SoftBank is not selling shares in the company’s public issue. 

These developments come just a day before Swiggy’s listed peer Zomato is scheduled to issue its second quarter results and also vote on a proposal to raise fresh capital through a Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP). 

QIPs are a way for publicly listed companies to raise capital by selling shares exclusively to institutional investors like mutual funds, insurance companies, or banks.

Deepinder Goyal-led Zomato is on track to close a Rs 2,048 crore acquisition of Paytm’s ticketing business and launch its going-out app, District. The company is bullish on its quick commerce growth, stepping out business, and its B2B arm, Hyperpure. 

The quick commerce business is getting strong traction from investors as Zepto, which has already closed about $1 billion in funding in the last six months, plans to add another round with $100 million from Indian family offices and high-net-worth individuals.