Zomato Shares Up 4% Amid Block Deal Buzz, Market Cap Surpasses INR 1 Lakh Cr

The shares of foodtech giant Zomato rallied over 4% to hit the day’s high at INR 119 on BSE during Wednesday’s (November 29) session. The company’s market capitalisation surpassed INR 1 Lakh Cr.

Zomato shares surged after the company’s shares exchanged hands at an average price of INR 112 per share with a total transaction value of INR 3,326 Cr.

The participants involved in the transaction, both buyers and sellers, remain unknown yet.

However, as per reports, Alipay Singapore Holding, a subsidiary of the Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba’s affiliate, Ant Group, was looking to sell its entire 3.44% stake in the online food delivery company through a block deal.

Zomato shares began trading with a 2% increase, opening at INR 116.15 compared to the previous day’s closing price of INR 113.80 on the BSE following the block deal buzz.

Over the past months, Zomato saw stake selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) following the expiration of the one-year lock-in period for investors who had acquired shares in the company’s initial public offering (IPO).

It was reported last month that Japanese tech investor SoftBank was planning to offload a 1.1% stake in Indian foodtech major Zomato for at least INR 1,023.6 Cr ($123 Mn). In August, the tech investor offloaded 1.16% of its stake in the foodtech major for a cumulative sum of INR 947 Cr.

Investment firm Tiger Global also exited foodtech giant Zomato in August by selling 12.24 Cr shares worth INR 1,123 Cr, amounting to 1.44% stake.

Zomato reported its second consecutive profitable quarter, with profit after tax surging to INR 36 Cr during the September quarter of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). This was an 18X jump from PAT of INR 2 Cr in the preceding quarter.

Meanwhile, Zomato and Swiggy, the duo, reportedly received notices for a cumulative goods and services tax (GST) worth around INR 1,000 Cr, which is the 18% tax levied on the total amount collected by them as delivery fees ever since they started offering food delivery services.

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