Food delivery platform, Swiggy, is reportedly in talks for a stock based merger with restaurant discovery and food delivery rival Zomato. According to sources, the management of the two companies met recently to discuss a potential merger. However, the talks failed to progress any further due to differences in business alignment and expected valuations.
A news daily reported, Zomato offered a 1:4 share swap ratio to Swiggy. But, Swiggy is looking for a $ 500 million valuation. The food delivery platform recently raised close to $ 80 million in a Series E funding round from Naspers. Post this investment, Swiggy’s valuation increased to $ 400 million. On the other hand, Zomato wants to strike the deal valuing itself at more than $1 billion. The restaurant discovery platform is also currently in talks with Alibaba’s investment arm Ant Financial to close a $ 200 million investment. The company was valued at $ 1.4 billion by the equity research firm Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Pvt., Ltd.
After the failed merger talks between Flipkart and Snapdeal, Zomato and Swiggy’s merger will be among the most significant moves made towards consolidating a lucrative sector. While Zomato could have continued with its search and restaurant discovery business while continuing as a shareholder in Swiggy, the company was interested in an outright merger. A source close to the development said, “Swiggy was more interested in exploring the merger at existing valuation, but Zomato’s proposed swap ratio would have valued it at $225 million.”
Both the companies dominate the food tech business in India. According to reports, Swiggy completes around 4- 4.5 million orders a month. Zomato, which completes close to 3- 3.2 million online orders, has an upper hand in the restaurant discovery business. Speaking about the speculations, an Alipay spokesperson said, “We don’t comment on market speculation.”
In an emailed statement, Swiggy replied to the allegations stating, “Swiggy has a razor-sharp focus in delivering a superior customer experience as we continue to grow as India’s largest food ordering and delivery company. We would not like to comment on baseless speculations such as this.”
The online food delivery market in India grew exponentially in 2016 with an estimated gross merchandise value (GMV) of $300 million. Recently, global players like UberEATS and Google also entered the Indian online food delivery industry.
Note – This article has been updated after we received an official response from Swiggy.
