CCI approves forSoftBank’s $450-million investment in Swiggy
SoftBank is looking to invest $450 million in Swiggy in a deal that will mark the Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank Group Corp.’s first direct bet in the foodtech sector in India, according to a Mint report. Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday gave its nod for a proposed deal involving SoftBank Group investment in food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy.
The funding is an extension of Swiggy’s $800-million round, which saw participation from investors such as Falcon Edge, Amansa Capital, Think Investments, Carmignac and Goldman Sachs. The Japanese conglomerate has been eyeing the food delivery sector since 2017 and has held talks with both Swiggy and Zomato. However, Swiggy’s plan to diversify beyond food delivery into groceries and daily essential services has worked in its favour on getting SoftBank’s backing, sources had told us.
SoftBank’s interest in the Indian food tech space is not new. For years, there has been speculation on whether it will go with Zomato or Swiggy Zomato seemed to have an edge a few years ago after it acquired UberEats, which gave SoftBank’s portfolio company Uber, a stake in the merged entity. In fact, Alibaba’s Ant Financial, which is another early bet of Masa Son is also an investor in Zomato.
