Alipay, the Chinese payments group, divested its complete 3.44% share in the prominent food tech company Zomato through various block deals on Wednesday, amounting to a total of INR 3,336.7 Cr.
As of September 30, 2023, Alipay possessed 29.6 crore shares in Zomato, and the complete stake was divested yesterday, according to BSE data.
According to reports, Alipay was projected to divest its stake at INR 111.28 per share. Nevertheless, the transaction was completed at INR 112.7 per share on the BSE yesterday.
The Chinese firm withdrew from Zomato, securing a profit of over $40 million, a significant increase from its initial investment of $360 million in the Indian foodtech company back in 2018.
Even with Alipay’s divestment, Zomato’s shares demonstrated resilience, attracting interest from various buyers.
Yesterday, Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) acquired 4.4 crore shares of Zomato in a bulk deal, with the Government of Singapore purchasing 3.3 crore shares from the offloaded shares. Birla Mutual Fund secured 1.7 crore shares of Zomato, and BofA Securities Europe SA acquired 1.3 crore shares in the company.
Various entities affiliated with Fidelity Investment, Morgan Stanley, and Vanguard were among the purchasers of Alipay’s divested stake in Zomato.
In total, 30.4 crore shares of Zomato were traded yesterday on the BSE.
The company’s shares concluded yesterday’s session with a 2.5% increase, closing at INR 116.7 and once again surpassing its listing price of INR 115.
In November of last year, Alipay sold almost half of its Zomato stake in a bulk deal, amounting to INR 1,631 Cr.
In August of this year, the company divested a 10.3% stake in Paytm, a move that was subsequently acquired by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder, and CEO of the fintech giant.
Zomato’s shares have surged approximately 97% year-to-date, driven by the company’s consecutive profitable quarters in FY24.
Read More: Zomato reports remarkable surge in profit, achieving second consecutive profitable quarter in FY24
Also Read: Zomato turns profitable in Q1 FY24, reports INR 2 Cr consolidated PAT
