In a bold move, venture capitalists and co-founders of BizDateup, Jeet Chandan and Meet Jain, have acquired an undisclosed stake in Swiggy, the IPO-bound foodtech giant.
Investment͏͏ Made͏͏ via͏͏ Off-Market͏͏ Deal:
In͏͏ a͏͏ statement,͏͏ the͏͏ company͏͏ revealed͏͏ that͏͏ the͏͏ investment͏͏ was͏͏ made͏͏ through͏͏ an͏͏ “off-market”͏͏ secondary͏͏ deal͏͏ for͏͏ an͏͏ undisclosed͏͏ amount.
Chandan͏͏ expressed,͏͏ “Having͏͏ been͏͏ an͏͏ entrepreneur͏͏ since͏͏ the͏͏ age͏͏ of͏͏ 13,͏͏ I͏͏ am͏͏ passionate͏͏ about͏͏ building͏͏ businesses͏͏ that͏͏ demonstrate͏͏ disruptive͏͏ potential͏͏ and͏͏ positively͏͏ influence͏͏ consumers’͏͏ lives.͏͏ Swiggy’s͏͏ innovative͏͏ strategy͏͏ and͏͏ leadership͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ food͏͏ delivery͏͏ industry͏͏ resonate͏͏ perfectly͏͏ with͏͏ my͏͏ investment͏͏ philosophy.”
Cofounder͏͏ Jain͏͏ remarked,͏͏ “The͏͏ emergence͏͏ of͏͏ engaging,͏͏ user-friendly͏͏ apps͏͏ and͏͏ tech-enabled͏͏ driver͏͏ networks,͏͏ along͏͏ with͏͏ changing͏͏ consumer͏͏ expectations,͏͏ has͏͏ turned͏͏ ready-to-eat͏͏ food͏͏ delivery͏͏ into͏͏ a͏͏ significant͏͏ category.͏͏ We͏͏ believe͏͏ Swiggy͏͏ is͏͏ ideally͏͏ positioned͏͏ to͏͏ shape͏͏ the͏͏ future͏͏ of͏͏ food͏͏ delivery͏͏ with͏͏ its͏͏ innovative͏͏ solutions͏͏ and͏͏ customer-focused͏͏ approach.”
BizDateUp’s͏͏ Rise͏͏ in͏͏ Angel͏͏ Investments:
Founded͏͏ by͏͏ Chandan͏͏ and͏͏ Jain͏͏ in͏͏ 2020,͏͏ BizDateUp͏͏ enables͏͏ angel͏͏ investors͏͏ to͏͏ invest͏͏ in͏͏ Indian͏͏ startups͏͏ with͏͏ a͏͏ minimum͏͏ capital͏͏ of͏͏ INR͏͏ 1͏͏ lakh.͏͏ In͏͏ April͏͏ 2024,͏͏ the͏͏ investment͏͏ firm͏͏ announced͏͏ the͏͏ launch͏͏ of͏͏ a͏͏ INR͏͏ 200͏͏ crore͏͏ fund͏͏ dedicated͏͏ to͏͏ investing͏͏ in͏͏ technology͏͏ startups.
It͏͏ has͏͏ raised͏͏ over͏͏ $10͏͏ million͏͏ from͏͏ more͏͏ than͏͏ 1,000͏͏ active͏͏ angel͏͏ investors͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ financial͏͏ year͏͏ 2023-24͏͏ (FY24).
Celebrity͏͏ Interest͏͏ in͏͏ Swiggy’s͏͏ IPO:
This͏͏ development͏͏ comes͏͏ as͏͏ a͏͏ wave͏͏ of͏͏ celebrities͏͏ seeks͏͏ to͏͏ acquire͏͏ stakes͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ company͏͏ ahead͏͏ of͏͏ Swiggy’s͏͏ IPO.͏͏ Last͏͏ week,͏͏ cricketers͏͏ Rahul͏͏ Dravid͏͏ and͏͏ Zaheer͏͏ Khan,͏͏ tennis͏͏ star͏͏ Rohan͏͏ Bopanna,͏͏ director͏͏ Karan͏͏ Johar,͏͏ and͏͏ actor-entrepreneur͏͏ Ashish͏͏ Chowdhry͏͏ invested͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ foodtech͏͏ giant.
Prior͏͏ to͏͏ that,͏͏ actors͏͏ like͏͏ Amitabh͏͏ Bachchan͏͏ and͏͏ Madhuri͏͏ Dixit͏͏ also͏͏ acquired͏͏ stakes͏͏ in͏͏ Swiggy͏͏ ahead͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ decacorn’s͏͏ IPO.
Continue͏͏ Exploring:͏͏ Swiggy attracts͏͏ celebrity͏͏ investors:͏͏ Rahul͏͏ Dravid,͏͏ Karan͏͏ Johar͏͏ &͏͏ others͏͏ invest͏͏ in͏͏ pre-IPO͏͏ round
In͏͏ September,͏͏ listed͏͏ porcelain͏͏ insulator͏͏ manufacturer͏͏ Modern͏͏ Insulators͏͏ purchased͏͏ shares͏͏ in͏͏ Swiggy͏͏ valued͏͏ at͏͏ nearly͏͏ INR͏͏ 5͏͏ crore,͏͏ while͏͏ Hindustan͏͏ Composites͏͏ announced͏͏ plans͏͏ to͏͏ acquire͏͏ 1.5͏͏ lakh͏͏ shares͏͏ for͏͏ a͏͏ cash͏͏ consideration͏͏ of͏͏ INR͏͏ 5.17͏͏ crore.
This͏͏ follows͏͏ closely͏͏ after͏͏ Swiggy͏͏ submitted͏͏ its͏͏ updated͏͏ draft͏͏ red͏͏ herring͏͏ prospectus͏͏ (DRHP)͏͏ to͏͏ the͏͏ Securities͏͏ and͏͏ Exchange͏͏ Board͏͏ of͏͏ India͏͏ (SEBI)͏͏ last͏͏ week͏͏ for͏͏ an͏͏ initial͏͏ public͏͏ offering͏͏ (IPO)͏͏ valued͏͏ at͏͏ INR͏͏ 3,750͏͏ crore.
The͏͏ public͏͏ issue͏͏ will͏͏ consist͏͏ of͏͏ a͏͏ fresh͏͏ issuance͏͏ of͏͏ shares͏͏ valued͏͏ at͏͏ INR͏͏ 3,750͏͏ crore,͏͏ along͏͏ with͏͏ an͏͏ offer͏͏ for͏͏ sale͏͏ (OFS)͏͏ of͏͏ 18.53͏͏ crore͏͏ equity͏͏ shares.
On͏͏ the͏͏ financial͏͏ front,͏͏ the͏͏ DRHP͏͏ revealed͏͏ that͏͏ Swiggy’s͏͏ net͏͏ losses͏͏ increased͏͏ by͏͏ over͏͏ 7%͏͏ to͏͏ INR͏͏ 605.7͏͏ crore͏͏ in͏͏ Q1͏͏ FY25,͏͏ compared͏͏ to͏͏ INR͏͏ 562.8͏͏ crore͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ same͏͏ quarter͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ previous͏͏ fiscal͏͏ year.͏͏ Nevertheless,͏͏ its͏͏ operational͏͏ revenue͏͏ surged͏͏ nearly͏͏ 35%͏͏ to͏͏ INR͏͏ 3,222.2͏͏ crore͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ June͏͏ quarter,͏͏ up͏͏ from͏͏ INR͏͏ 2,389.8͏͏ crore͏͏ in͏͏ Q1͏͏ FY24.
