Online restaurant guide and food ordering platform Zomato is set to close a USD 500-million investment that would value the company at around USD 5.5 billion.
According to a report by The Economic Times, existing investors Tiger Global, Kora Investments, Steadview, Fidelity, Bow Wave, and Vy Capital along with new entrant Dragoneer Group have participated in the latest funding round.
The fundraising will include a mix of primary cash infusion of USD 250 million by existing backers and a similar amount by way of secondary sale of shares by Chinese investors Ant Group and Sunlight Fund, the report said.
With the fresh capital, Zomato is expected to have USD 1 billion in cash as it inches closer to its public market debut.
"Ant Group remains committed to its vision of bringing inclusive financial services to global consumers and small-and-micro businesses by working closely with its global partners, including Zomato," a spokesperson told The Economic Times.
According to reports, Zomato is planning to file for an IPO in the first half of 2021. In December 2020, Zomato had closed a USD 660 million (over Rs 4,850 crore) funding round. In a series of tweets, Goyal said, "Marquee global investors share our enthusiasm about the future of this business. Today, we closed a $660m primary financing round at a post-money valuation of $3.9b."
He added, "10 new investors are joining us in our journey. This list includes Tiger Global, Kora, Luxor, Fidelity (FMR), D1 Capital, Baillie Gifford, Mirae, and Steadview."
In another tweet, Goyal said that on top of this USD 660 million, the company is in the process of closing a USD 140-million secondary transaction. As part of this transaction, it has already provided liquidity worth USD 30 million to its ex-employees.
In a tweet, Goyal said, "I am grateful for their contribution in building @zomato and am glad that we created some wealth for these super amazing people. A number of these ex-zomans are busy working on their own startups and will not need to raise seed capital from external investors."
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