Zepto Gets Domestic Shareholding Boost In $100 Mn Round

As major quick commerce players look to increase the domestic shareholding, Zepto has brought in Motilal Oswal’s founders Motilal Oswal and Raamdeo Agrawal to its cap table through a $100 Mn secondary deal.

Sources told Inc42 that Oswal and Agrawal have bought shares worth $50 Mn apiece in the IPO-bound startup. The deal is part of a larger $350 Mn round, with the rest being mopped up by Motilal Oswal’s clients, including domestic family offices, sources added. 

“The transaction for Motilal Oswal’s founders is done, but we are yet to close the rest,” one of the sources said.

The secondary transaction was executed at a valuation of $5 Bn, the same price as Zepto’s last fundraise of $350 Mn in November 2024.

Quick Commerce Giants Woo Domestic Investors

Besides the founders of the financial services firm, Edelweiss and HeroMoto are also expected to participate in some capacity. Sources claim that this would be over and above the $350 Mn secondary round led by Oswal, Agarwal and their firm’s clients.

Although this is a secondary deal, no investor is completely exiting Zepto. The ones diluting their stake are early foreign investors of Zepto, who would be offloading 10%-15% of their holding, one of the sources said.  

Like Blinkit, which is looking to bring more domestic investors to its cap table, Zepto is also looking to limit the foreign shareholding in the company. Sources claim Zepto’s domestic shareholding is currently around 18%. Following these secondary deals, it is expected to cross 20%.

In fact the company’s last major round in 2024 was also raised exclusively from domestic investors, which was claimed to be the largest such fundraise in India.

Eternal-owned Blinkit is also planning to cap foreign ownership at 49.5%, in preparation for the transition from a marketplace model to an inventory-led model. Zepto, though, is unlikely to follow suit at the moment and its domestic shareholding is yet to reach levels where it can look to join Blinkit. 

Both quick commerce majors are looking to increase domestic shareholding above 50% to better comply with regulations around FDI in retail and ecommerce businesses. It is also expected to improve investor confidence in the sector, given recent fears around stringent regulations. 

Zepto Pushes IPO To 2026

In the case of Zepto, this is largely a process to ensure smoother access to Indian public markets. Sources say plans to file for an IPO by March-April have been delayed to the end of this year or early 2026 due to the uncertainty and ongoing volatility in the markets.

Earlier this year, Zepto’s IPO was reported to be sized anywhere between $800 Mn–$1 Bn. Cofounder and CEO Aadit Palicha earlier claimed the company would achieve EBITDA profitability in the final quarter of FY26, but given the higher losses for Blinkit and Instamart in Q4 FY25, it’s not clear whether that projection is still on track. 

Zepto has also increased its dark store network in the past two quarters and invested significantly in scaling Zepto Cafe.