Cricketers Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan, tennis star Rohan Bopanna, director Karan Johar, and actor-entrepreneur Ashish Chowdhry are the latest celebrities backing foodtech giant Swiggy in its pre-IPO funding round.
However,͏͏ the͏͏ details͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ financial͏͏ transactions͏͏ remain͏͏ confidential.
According͏͏ to͏͏ ET,͏͏ this͏͏ investment͏͏ is͏͏ part͏͏ of͏͏ Swiggy’s͏͏ pre-IPO͏͏ shares͏͏ being͏͏ traded͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ unlisted͏͏ market,͏͏ with͏͏ approximately͏͏ 200,000͏͏ shares͏͏ already͏͏ acquired͏͏ by͏͏ notable͏͏ individuals.
This͏͏ development͏͏ comes͏͏ as͏͏ sports͏͏ and͏͏ entertainment͏͏ celebrities͏͏ rush͏͏ to͏͏ acquire͏͏ a͏͏ stake͏͏ in͏͏ Swiggy’s͏͏ pre-IPO͏͏ shares.
Recent͏͏ Celebrity Stake͏͏ Acquisitions:
Last͏͏ week,͏͏ actor͏͏ Madhuri͏͏ Dixit͏͏ became͏͏ the͏͏ second͏͏ Indian͏͏ celebrity,͏͏ following͏͏ Amitabh͏͏ Bachchan,͏͏ to͏͏ acquire͏͏ a͏͏ stake͏͏ in͏͏ Swiggy.
Continue͏͏ Exploring:͏͏ After͏͏ Amitabh͏͏ Bachchan,͏͏ Madhuri͏͏ Dixit͏͏ acquires͏͏ stake͏͏ in͏͏ IPO-bound͏͏ Swiggy
Earlier͏͏ this͏͏ month,͏͏ listed͏͏ porcelain͏͏ insulator͏͏ manufacturer͏͏ Modern͏͏ Insulators͏͏ purchased͏͏ shares͏͏ in͏͏ Swiggy͏͏ valued͏͏ at͏͏ nearly͏͏ INR͏͏ 5͏͏ crore.͏͏ Meanwhile,͏͏ Hindustan͏͏ Composites͏͏ announced͏͏ its͏͏ plan͏͏ to͏͏ acquire͏͏ 150,000͏͏ shares,͏͏ representing͏͏ a͏͏ 0.01%͏͏ stake,͏͏ in͏͏ Swiggy͏͏ for͏͏ a͏͏ cash͏͏ consideration͏͏ of͏͏ INR͏͏ 5.17͏͏ crore.
SEBI͏͏ Approval͏͏ for͏͏ IPO:
On͏͏ September͏͏ 24,͏͏ the͏͏ foodtech͏͏ giant͏͏ received͏͏ approval͏͏ from͏͏ the͏͏ Securities͏͏ and͏͏ Exchange͏͏ Board͏͏ of͏͏ India͏͏ (SEBI)͏͏ for͏͏ its͏͏ initial͏͏ public͏͏ offering.
Continue͏͏ Exploring:͏͏ Swiggy gets͏͏ SEBI͏͏ nod͏͏ for͏͏ IPO,͏͏ eyes͏͏ November͏͏ listing
Following͏͏ the͏͏ approval,͏͏ the͏͏ startup͏͏ will͏͏ now͏͏ submit͏͏ two͏͏ updated͏͏ draft͏͏ red͏͏ herring͏͏ prospectuses͏͏ (DRHPs)͏͏ —͏͏ one͏͏ addressing͏͏ SEBI’s͏͏ comments͏͏ on͏͏ its͏͏ confidential͏͏ DRHP͏͏ and͏͏ another͏͏ soliciting͏͏ public͏͏ comments,͏͏ Moneycontrol͏͏ reported,͏͏ citing͏͏ sources.
Anticipated͏͏ IPO͏͏ Size:
While͏͏ the͏͏ precise͏͏ size͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ public͏͏ offer͏͏ has͏͏ not͏͏ yet͏͏ been͏͏ disclosed,͏͏ the͏͏ startup͏͏ is͏͏ expected͏͏ to͏͏ aim͏͏ for͏͏ $1.4͏͏ billion͏͏ through͏͏ its͏͏ IPO.
For͏͏ those͏͏ unfamiliar,͏͏ Swiggy͏͏ filed͏͏ for͏͏ an͏͏ IPO͏͏ through͏͏ a͏͏ confidential͏͏ pre-filing͏͏ route͏͏ with͏͏ SEBI͏͏ in͏͏ April,͏͏ targeting͏͏ a͏͏ fresh͏͏ issue͏͏ of͏͏ equity͏͏ shares͏͏ valued͏͏ at͏͏ INR͏͏ 3,750͏͏ crore͏͏ ($450͏͏ million)͏͏ and͏͏ a͏͏ total͏͏ offer-for-sale͏͏ (OFS)͏͏ component͏͏ worth͏͏ INR͏͏ 6,664͏͏ crore.
Founded͏͏ in͏͏ 2014͏͏ by͏͏ Sriharsha͏͏ Majety,͏͏ Nandan͏͏ Reddy,͏͏ Phani͏͏ Kishan͏͏ Addepalli,͏͏ and͏͏ Rahul͏͏ Jaimini,͏͏ Swiggy͏͏ began͏͏ as͏͏ a͏͏ food͏͏ delivery͏͏ startup͏͏ and͏͏ later͏͏ expanded͏͏ into͏͏ the͏͏ quick͏͏ commerce͏͏ sector͏͏ with͏͏ Instamart.
Swiggy’s͏͏ IPO͏͏ is͏͏ taking͏͏ place͏͏ despite͏͏ the͏͏ company͏͏ not͏͏ yet͏͏ achieving͏͏ profitability.͏͏ In͏͏ contrast,͏͏ its͏͏ competitor͏͏ Zomato͏͏ has͏͏ been͏͏ steadily͏͏ improving͏͏ its͏͏ profit͏͏ margins͏͏ since͏͏ reporting͏͏ its͏͏ first͏͏ profit͏͏ in͏͏ Q1͏͏ FY24.
However,͏͏ the͏͏ silver͏͏ lining͏͏ is͏͏ that͏͏ the͏͏ foodtech͏͏ giant͏͏ has͏͏ succeeded͏͏ in͏͏ reducing͏͏ its͏͏ losses͏͏ in͏͏ FY24.͏͏ The͏͏ total͏͏ loss͏͏ for͏͏ the͏͏ year͏͏ 2023-24͏͏ (FY24)͏͏ stood͏͏ at͏͏ INR͏͏ 2,350.2͏͏ crore,͏͏ reflecting͏͏ a͏͏ 43%͏͏ decrease͏͏ from͏͏ the͏͏ INR͏͏ 4,179.3͏͏ crore͏͏ loss͏͏ recorded͏͏ in͏͏ FY23.
In͏͏ terms͏͏ of͏͏ market͏͏ share,͏͏ Swiggy’s͏͏ quick͏͏ commerce͏͏ division,͏͏ Instamart,͏͏ has͏͏ been͏͏ losing͏͏ ground͏͏ to͏͏ competitors͏͏ Blinkit͏͏ and͏͏ Zepto.͏͏ Currently,͏͏ Zomato’s͏͏ Blinkit͏͏ leads͏͏ the͏͏ market,͏͏ while͏͏ Zepto͏͏ has͏͏ secured͏͏ millions͏͏ of͏͏ dollars͏͏ in͏͏ funding͏͏ in͏͏ recent͏͏ months.
