Invesco Slashes Swiggy’s Valuation By 25% To $8 Bn

SUMMARY

Invesco pegged Swiggy at $8 Bn in the quarter that ended September 2022, down from $10.7 Bn in the previous quarter

The markdown came months after Invesco led a $700 Mn round in the foodtech major at a valuation of $10.7 Bn

The development piled up on a heavy day for Swiggy, which also saw its grocery vertical Instamart’s head Karthik Gurumurthy stepping down

Months after investing in Swiggy, US-based investor Invesco has reportedly marked down the valuation of the foodtech major by more than 25% to $8 Bn.

As per regulatory documents seen by TechCrunch, Invesco pegged Swiggy at $8 Bn in the quarter that ended September 2022, down from $10.7 Bn in the previous quarter. The markdown came months after Invesco led a $700 Mn round in the foodtech major at a valuation of $10.7 Bn.

Swiggy declined Inc42’s request for a comment on the matter.

According to an ET report, Invesco reportedly valued Swiggy at $4,759 per share in October 2022 versus $6,212 in July 2022, putting Swiggy’s valuation around the $8.2 Bn mark.

With this, Swiggy joins the growing list of Indian new-age tech startups whose valuations have been slashed by investors amid volatile market conditions and weak global cues.

Earlier last year, SoftBank slashed portfolio startup OYO’s valuation to $2.7 Bn from $10 Bn. In November, Prosus also pegged its stake in BYJU’S at $578 Mn, a far cry from the $22 Bn valuation at which the edtech major last raised capital.

The development piled up on a heavy day for Swiggy, which also saw its grocery vertical Instamart’s head Karthik Gurumurthy stepping down.

The further markdown on Swiggy complicates the situation for the foodtech major which has already been bogged down in concerns around mounting losses and heavy cash burn. Swiggy recorded a net loss of INR 3,628.9 Cr in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22), up more than 2X from INR 1,616.9 Cr in FY21.

Swiggy has also been in the line of fire for a slew of reasons, including the mass layoffs it conducted earlier this year.

The layoffs were part of a larger restructuring exercise at the company, which has seen Swiggy cut corners and consolidate operations. As part of this, Swiggy also sold its loss-making kitchen infrastructure business Swiggy Access to Kitchens@ and shut down its meat marketplace verticals for non-performance.

The cut in valuations also comes at a time when the larger listed new-age tech startups have seen a washout on the bourses. Swiggy’s competitor Zomato has seen its market capitalisation fall by more than 69% from the all-time high of INR 169 it recorded in November 2021.

Swiggy has also been on the receiving end of concerns around impending recession and reduced discretionary spending by users.