Zomato To Acquire 8% Stake In Kitchen Appliance Maker Byondnxt

Foodtech major Zomato is acquiring a 8% stake in innovative kitchen appliances maker Byondnxt.

In an exchange filing, Zomato said it has received its board’s nod to subscribe to up to 600 equity shares of Byondnxt Smart Home Pvt Limited for a total purchase consideration of INR 6,000.

It is pertinent to note that Byondnxt was founded by Eshwar Vikas, the founder of Mukunda Food.

In 2022, Mukunda Food raised $5 Mn from Zomato. Mukunda Food is a food robotics company that designs and manufactures smart robotic equipment to automate food preparation for restaurants. 

“Eshwar has offered Zomato a ~8% equity stake in Byondnxt at face value (and hence the subscription amount paid by Zomato for this investment is a mere INR 6,000 only). Zomato will continue to stay invested in Mukunda and this share subscription does not dilute Zomato’s economic interest or rights in Mukunda. To be abundantly clear, Zomato is not looking to make any further investment in either Mukunda or Byondnxt,” Zomato said in its exchange filing today.

Byondnxt is a B2C startup which designs and manufactures innovative kitchen appliances. It was incorporated in August this year, Zomato said.

The foodtech giant today posted a net profit of INR 176 Cr in Q2 FY25, down 30% from INR 253 Cr in Q1. 

It also received the approval of its board to raise INR 8,500 Cr via qualified institutional placement (QIP).

Earlier reports had said that the QIP will see the company’s domestic shareholding increase to over 50%. The details of the shareholders who will partake in the round is unclear at the moment.

Meanwhile, the foodtech major’s cash balance took a hit this quarter due to its acquisition of Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business. It acquired the entertainment ticketing business for INR 2,048 Cr in an all-cash deal.

The company’s cash reserve at the end of the September quarter stood at INR 1,726 Cr.