• India's Zomato to acquire Blinkit's additional stake for about Rs 4,447 crore in an all-stock deal

    Business
    India's Zomato to acquire Blinkit's additional stake for about Rs 4,447 crore in an all-stock deal

    Zomato, which China's Ant Group sponsors, already holds more than a 9% stake in Blinkit.


    Digital Desk: To capitalize on the expanding quick delivery market, India's Zomato Ltd announced on Friday that it would acquire local grocery delivery company Blinkit for Rs 4,447 crore ($568.16 million) in an all-stock deal.


    Zomato announced earlier this year that it would invest up to $400 million in the Indian rapid commerce industry over the next two years. In August, Zomato paid almost Rs 518 crore ($66.16 million) for a stake of more than 9% in Blinkit.


    The SoftBank Group-backed company Blinkit, formerly known as Grofers, changed its name in the latter part of last year as its CEO pledged to speed up deliveries of everything from groceries to electronics in a developing market dominated by Walmart's Flipkart and Amazon's local unit.


    Delivering products from milk, eggs, fruits, and veggies, to gadgets, Blinkit operates in over 20 Indian towns. 


    According to Zomato, the business had a gross merchandise value run rate of around $450 million as of January.


    China's Ant Group, which supports Zomato, withdrew specifics concerning the size of the most recent stake.


    In addition, it stated it would pay up to Rs 60.7 crore to acquire the warehouse and ancillary services division of Blinkit's parent company Grofers International.


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