Zomato raises US$ 150 mn from existing investor Ant Financial, to file for IPO in first half of 2021

Online restaurant guide and food ordering platform Zomato on Friday said it has raised US$ 150 million (over Rs 1,065 crore) from existing investor Ant Financial as part of a larger funding round.
According to a regulatory filing by Info Edge India, which is also an existing shareholder in Zomato, this transaction is at a pre-money valuation of US$ 3 billion, PTI reported.
The investment is part of a larger funding round of up to US$ 600 million, announced by Zomato Founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal in December.
“We have raised US$ 150 million from Ant Financial as a part of a larger round. Ant Financial has been a steadfast partner in our journey towards achieving market leadership in on-demand food delivery in India, and dining out globally,” a Zomato spokesperson said in a statement.
The filing by Info Edge India said Zomato Media has signed a definitive agreement to undertake a primary fund raising of up to US$ 150 million from its existing shareholder, Antfin Singapore Holding Pte Ltd, and/ or any of its affiliates.
“…upon closing as a consequence of this fund raise, our shareholding in Zomato shall stand reduced to about 25.13 percent on fully converted and diluted basis. The transaction values Zomato at a pre-money valuation of US$ 3 billion,” it added.
In December last year, Goyal had told PTI that Zomato is looking to raise US$ 500-600 million by January 2020 or so.
Zomato plans to go for an initial public offering (IPO) in the first half of 2021, its founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal told employees on Thursday.
In an e-mail to them, accessed by PTI, Goyal said: “Our finance/ legal teams are working hard to take us to IPO sometime in the first half of next year.”
“The value of our business is going up dramatically, all thanks to the hard work and commitment of our team. We hope to create a lot of value for our current employees who have ESOPs sometime in the next year,” he added.
The IPO is around the corner and waiting a little longer will result in significantly more value creation for all, he added.
“A number of ex-Zomans are doing their own startups etc.., and wanted to sell their Zomato employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). We have been able to help them in that process. In total, our ex-employees have sold almost US$ 30 million (around Rs 225 crore) worth of shares to investors,” Goyal said.