March 15, 2022
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Indian food-delivery firm Zomato Ltd has reached an all-stock merger with Blinkit that values the instant-delivery service between $700 million and $750 million, TechCrunch reported https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/15/zomato-and-blinkit-reach-agreement-for-merger/?guccounter=1 on Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Zomato and Blinkit did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The food-delivery company in August acquired a more than 9% stake in SoftBank-backed Blinkit for 5.18 billion rupees ($67.77 million).
Formerly known as Grofers, Blinkit rebranded itself late last year as its CEO promised to speed up deliveries of everything from groceries to electronics in a burgeoning market dominated by Walmart’s Flipkart and Amazon’s local unit.
The startup, which operates in more than 20 locations across India, offers the convenience of delivery in 10 minutes, far lower than the hours or days most competitors take.
Zomato had said in its latest earnings report that it would spend as much as $400 million on potential investments in the quick commerce market over the next two years.
($1 = 76.4380 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Shivani Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
