Zepto nears $350M secondary share sale to increase domestic ownership
Zepto's foreign investors are expected to offload 15% of their proportionate stake in the secondary share sale.
Quick commerce unicorn is about to close a $350 million secondary share sale at about $5 billion valuation as it looks to increase domestic ownership.
According to a report by ET Now, a major domestic entity has committed $100 million as part of the deal, while remaining $250 million is likely to come from family offices, HNIs, and other mutual funds. Motilal Oswal Wealth and Hero FinCorp are among the deal investors.
The transaction will provide partial exit to foreign investors like Nexus Ventures, Glade Brook, Stepstone, and General Catalyst, who will be selling a proportionate 15% of their stake in Zepto to domestic investor.
As per a MoneyControl report, Motilal Oswal Financial Services's founders Motilal Oswal and Raamdeo Agrawal have purchased shares worth $50 million each in their personal capacity.
This is a part of an attempt to raise domestic shareholding in the Bengaluru-based quick commerce firm to over 50% ahead of its IPO. This move would make Zepto an Indian owned and controlled company, enabling it to run inventory model for its Q-Com arm. It is looking to simplify its captable as it gears for its IPO.
Zepto founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra have signed a binding debenture agreement for Rs 1,500 crore structured deal allowing them to increase holdings in the firm.
These developments come as quick commerce players increasingly look towards inventory models to increase their margins as competition in the sector drags its profitability.