Reports surfaced on Thursday indicating that Zomato, the prominent online food platform, has extended an offer to acquire Shiprocket, a domestic logistics solution provider, for an estimated sum of nearly $2 billion (over Rs 16,600 crore).
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg revealed that Zomato has proposed the acquisition, though a final decision on the deal is yet to be made.
Last August, Shiprocket, supported by Zomato and investors including Info Edge, Temasek, and Lightrock, secured $33.5 million in funding, elevating its valuation to approximately $1.2 billion.
Zomato, during the same month, successfully concluded the acquisition of quick commerce company Blinkit (formerly Grofers) along with its warehousing and ancillary services. Zomato's board greenlit the Rs 4,447 crore transaction for Blinkit, with the ancillary business acquisition costing Rs 61 crore.
In parallel, Shiprocket is reportedly engaged in discussions with leading venture capital firms for a funding round ranging between $75-100 million, led by US-based investment firm Tribe Capital. Although ongoing, the terms of the funding are subject to potential changes, according to sources cited in a recent TechCrunch report.
Shiprocket, headquartered in Bengaluru, is strategically positioning itself to be IPO-ready within the next 12 to 18 months. The company has ambitious plans to disburse approximately Rs 100 crore to Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) over the next year.
Established in 2017, Shiprocket offers a technology stack facilitating retailers to integrate their shopping websites on platforms like Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, Zoho, and others. The company also provides advanced fulfillment solutions through a network of more than 45 warehouses across the country.
Meanwhile, Zomato has been involved in offloading shares in bulk deals, with Japanese investment giant SoftBank leading most transactions. In August, another foreign institutional investor, Tiger Global Management, divested its entire shareholding of 1.44 percent in Zomato, netting a total of Rs 1,123.85 crore from the deal.
(With Agency Inputs)
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