B2B ecommerce platform ArisInfra Solutions has undertaken a pre-IPO placement to raise INR 80 Cr (INR 800.04 Mn) by issuing 36.03 Lakh equity shares for INR 222 per share. 

The shares are issued at a premium of INR 220 against the face value of INR 2. 

The decision was made following the resolutions of the board and shareholders on January 17, 2025. 

In its notice to investors as accessed by Inc42, the company informed, “A pre-IPO placement was undertaken by ArisInfra, in consultation with the BRLMs, for an amount aggregating to INR 800.04 Mn. Pursuant to the resolutions of the Board and the Shareholders, each dated January 17, 2025, the company approved the pre-IPO placement of 36,03,792 equity shares for cash at a price of INR 222 per equity share aggregating to INR 800.04 Mn.”

The top individuals or entities receiving the highest number of equity shares in the pre-IPO placement are Columbus Fin Vest’s director Vanaja Sundar Iyer, Param Capital Group’s founder Mukul Mahavir Agrawal,  Bagdia Petrochem’s Rishabh Bharatbhai Bagdia with cash considerations worth 16 Cr, 9.9 Cr and 7.2 Cr, respectively. 

Besides this, the company also announced that it entered into a share purchase agreement with certain investors regarding the pre-IPO placement on January 16. 

A pre-IPO placement is a private sale of shares conducted before a company goes public. 

The development comes two months after SEBI green lit its initial public offering (IPO) of INR 579.60 Cr. With this pre-IPO placement, the size of the fresh issue in the IPO will reduce to around INR 500 Cr. 

In November, the company already cut the size of the fresh issue in the IPO to INR 579.60 Cr from INR 600 Cr earlier.

ArisInfra’s IPO will consist solely of a fresh issue of shares, with no offer-for-sale component. The book running lead managers for the IPO are JM Financial, IIFL Capital and Nuvama. 

The proceeds from the IPO will be allocated to repay outstanding borrowings, fund working capital requirements, invest in subsidiary Buildmex-Infra Pvt Ltd, among others. 

Founded in 2021 by Ronak Morbia and Bhavik Khara, ArisInfra uses AI and machine learning to simplify construction material procurement. The startup delivers the products from the manufacturers of raw materials to businesses through its online platform.

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Shares of Go Digit surged as much as 12.28% to INR 321.35 during the intraday trading today (January 23) after the company announced its third quarter (Q3) results for the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25). 

However, the shares pared some gains to trade 11.5% lower at INR 319.15 as of 12:30 PM.

With today’s stock rally, the company’s market capitalisation stood at INR 29,433.44 Cr at the above-mentioned time, with 2.2 Cr shares traded by then.

The stock opened today’s trading session 4.85% higher at INR 300.10. Not to mention, the stock has an upper price circuit of INR 343.40. The stock’s 52-week high and low range is between INR 276.80 and INR 407.55. Earlier this month on January 13, the shares slumped to its 52-week low mark. 

The insurtech company’s net profit zoomed 176.46% to INR 118.52 Cr in the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) from INR 42.87 Cr in the year-ago period on the back of strong growth in its revenue and a controlled rise in expenses. 

On a sequential basis, the listed insurance giant’s profit surged 32.46% from INR 89.47 Cr.

Founded in 2017 by Kamesh Goyal, Go Digit General Insurance is a full-stack digital insurance company. It offers a wide range of non-life insurance policies across sectors such as motor vehicle, health, travel, and property among others.

The company reported a 10.24% increase in gross written premium (GWP) to INR 2,676.78 Cr in the quarter ended December 2024 from INR 2,427.97 Cr in Q3 FY24. Net premium written also grew 5.13% to INR 2,084.14 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 1,982.39 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

The stock has given a negative return of 1.52% in the last month while it yielded a positive return of 5.44% over the last year. 

Go Digit General was listed on the bourses in May last year, with a modest premium of 3.3% at INR 281 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Its shares have given a mere return of 1.8% since listing.

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Listed fintech Zomato has expanded its employee stock option plan (ESOP) by granting 4.17 Cr stock options under its ESOP plans.

In an exchange filing, the company said, “The Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Company (“NRC”) on January 22, 2025, has approved a total grant of 41,756,590 stock options under the Foodie Bay Employee Stock Option Plan 2014 (“ESOP 2014”), Zomato Employee Stock Option Plan 2021 (“ESOP 2021”), and Zomato Employee Stock Option Plan 2024 (“ESOP 2024”) to eligible employees.”

Of the total grant, the largest portion of stock options has been allocated under ESOP 2024, accounting for 3.7 Cr options. This is followed by 41.21 Lakh options under ESOP 2021 and 1,952 options under ESOP 2014.

As per the company, stock options granted under ESOP 2014 and ESOP 2021 can be exercised within ten years from the date of vesting or 12 years from the date of listing, whichever is later.

Meanwhile, stock options under ESOP 2024 can be exercised within ten years from the date of vesting.

A total of 5.48 Cr equity shares, with a face value of INR 1 each, are covered under the granted stock options. Each stock option can be converted into one fully paid-up equity share with a face value of INR 1.

Not to mention, ESOPs are allotted to retain top executives and attract talent globally.  

Based on Zomato’s stock closing price of INR 216.45 per share on Wednesday, the total value of these stock options is estimated at INR 903.82 Cr.

Zomato has witnessed several developments related to its ESOP schemes in recent months. 

Last month, Zomato allotted 47.75 Cr equity shares under various ESOPs to Foodie Bay Employees ESOP Trust. Before that in October, it expanded the pool size of its ESOP with the allotment of nearly 1.2 Cr stock options to eligible employees.

The developments comes at a time when Zomato has seen its consolidated net profit decline 57.2% to INR 59 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 138 Cr in the same quarter last year. Sequentially, profit tanked 66% from INR 176 Cr in Q2 FY25.

The post Zomato Expands ESOP Pool With 4.17 Cr Stock Options appeared first on Inc42 Media.

“99% of restaurant partners in the delivery business don’t make money,” said Sagar Daryani. The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) president and Wow! Momo cofounder was addressing thousands of fellow restaurant owners on a YouTube live stream. Their target: Zomato and Swiggy’s most recent forays into 10-minute food delivery. 

And now the restaurant body is also mulling legal action against both foodtech majors over what Zomato and Swiggy’s restaurant partners call private labelling.

“We are in discussions with our legal counsel, we have formed our plan of action and we will execute it in a couple of weeks,” a source within NRAI told Inc42 hours before Daryani’s townhall address.  

NRAI Vs Blinkit Bistro, Swiggy Snacc 

Reports had already indicated that the NRAI along with the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) is likely to approach the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over alleged anti-competitive practices by Zomato and Swiggy and their respective 10-minute food delivery services Blinkit Bistro and Snacc. 

Sources further claimed that Zomato and Swiggy were forced to make the foray due to pressure from investors and shareholders driven by the launch and expansion plans of Zepto Cafe. 

Earlier this month, NRAI representatives met the managements of Zomato and Swiggy to address the issue, but the meeting is said to have ended in a stalemate. Now, while the NRAI is hopeful of a favourable outcome based on past such disputes, the restaurant body is also mindful that further steps may be required to solve this particular concern. 

For instance, sources indicated that many of the restaurant partners are considering moving away from Zomato and Swiggy in case the companies fail to address their concerns. 

Sources also said that both companies had already transgressed into restaurant territory with their affordable meal delivery services Zomato Everyday and Swiggy Daily, cooked in company-owned private kitchens. But the launch of Blinkit Bistro and Swiggy Snacc is seen as a bigger threat by the NRAI, many of whom are dependent on aggregators not just for delivery but also dining reservations. 

Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa clarified that parent company Zomato will never launch private brands on the main app to compete with its restaurant partners, which is why the Bistro app is launched by Blinkit and is separate from the Zomato app.

This after the NRAI called for ‘industry status’ for the food services sector to prevent exploitative practices of foodtech platforms and ensure a level playing field for restaurants, delivery partners and consumers. 

In response to the much-publicised townhall meeting, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal wrote to the restaurant partners saying, “Bistro is not an existential threat to the restaurant industry.”

He also dismissed the usage of the term private label or Zomato Kitchen to describe Blinkit Bistro. “In the past, I have expressed that Zomato as a restaurant-aggregator will never compete with its own restaurant partners, unlike players such as Amazon who sell their own private labels on Amazon. Zomato has fully backed this commitment by never opening a physical restaurant and will NOT use Zomato as a distribution channel for kitchens that we do,” Goyal’s letter stated.

Inc42 also reached out to Swiggy for a comment, and we will update this article if and when the company responds.

Can ONDC Stand Up to Zomato-Swiggy?  

The meeting on Wednesday, January 22 saw more than 2,000 live viewers at one point — most of them restaurant partners. NRAI president Daryani claimed restaurants are exploring ONDC as a potential alternative to food delivery platforms.

This, of course, is not a new idea. Paytm, Magicpin, Ola Consumer have already had some success with ONDC food delivery, but the open network has not managed to make a big dent in terms of market share, and certainly not enough to make Zomato and Swiggy take notice.    

If anything, the ‘private labelling’ can be seen as a last straw in an already strained relationship. Both the NRAI and FHRAI have raised concerns about delivery platforms forcing deep discounts on restaurants, charging high commissions for order fulfilment and pressuring them to advertise on their platforms.

Some participants at the NRAI townhall meeting today claimed the terms of engagement are biased towards platforms, and Zomato and Swiggy unilaterally and frequently change the terms of service for restaurant partners. 

Citing ONDC as a potentially viable alternative, Daryani said, “ONDC is not an aggregator; it operates as a seller-buyer platform. Essentially, buyers use the platform to purchase products, and you, as a seller, become a listed provider. In ONDC, commissions range from 3% to a maximum of 7%, including logistical costs.”

He added that this is more economical for restaurants than depending on the duopoly for growth.  

Daryani also claimed ONDC is favourable for consumers as restaurants can lower the pricing for ONDC orders compared to Zomato and Swiggy thanks to the lower commissions. The Wow! Momo founder also argued that customer data for ONDC orders will be retained by restaurants alone.

The NRAI claims that food delivery giants have access to crucial consumer data but do not share it with restaurant partners. Instead, they have leveraged this data to launch new verticals that compete with restaurants.

In response to this allegation, Goyal clarified, “In fact, all Zomato data and insights are available to all restaurant partners and the public through Zomato Trends.”

ONDC cannot hope to compete with the massive reach that restaurants get through Zomato and Swiggy. Combined both companies have an active food delivery user base of close to 35 Mn and processed close to $2 Bn in GMV in the quarter ending September 2024. 

From Delivery To Dining Out

But Daryani also believes that it’s not just about food delivery. 

Zomato and Swiggy are also eyeing scale in other verticals including dining out and experiences. Daryani urged restaurants to safeguard their dining business from aggregator platforms which could come for this segment next. 

He warned that the restaurants will face the same challenges from these platforms in the future as they are facing in the food delivery segment. 

Last November, Zomato launched District as a separate app for dining, live entertainment and ticketing. In response, Swiggy, which acquired restaurant reservations app Dineout in 2022, rolled out Scenes and is eyeing a wider play around experiences and ticketing as well. 

Both consumer services giants are venturing beyond aggregation and delivery to owning a bigger piece of the restaurant and lifestyle experiences industry. Daryani questioned whether Zomato and Swiggy are actually helping the restaurant industry or hurting it. 

“We need to find various alternatives to survive, sustain and thrive. They already have a very firm footing in the delivery business, and we can’t allow them to get that firm footing in the dining-in business, because dining is the only place where we make money,” he added. 

Even as restaurants continue to protest, Swiggy and Zomato are looking to expand Snacc and Blinkit Bistro to more cities. In fact, besides these giants, a number of new startups are eyeing the same space, which means Zomato and Swiggy are not about to slow down any time soon. 

But Zomato CEO Goyal claimed that scaling Bistro up isn’t the goal of this experiment. “It is to find a workable business model that the restaurant industry can replicate. India’s out-of-home food consumption has room to expand, and new service models like Bistro will help acquire new customers, benefiting the wider restaurant ecosystem.”

But for the NRAI, this is a reprisal for a decade-long battle against the increasing dominance of delivery platforms. This time around, the battle seems more existential.

[Edited By Nikhil Subramaniam]

The post Inside The NRAI’s Battle Against Zomato, Swiggy’s 10-Minute Food Delivery appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of IndiaMART dipped as much as 10% to record its fresh 52-week low of INR 2,064.10 during the intraday trading today (January 22) following the company’s announcement of its financial results for the December 2024 quarter (Q3 FY25).

However, the shares pared some losses to trade 7.17% lower at INR 2,129 as of 10:30 AM.

With today’s stock correction, the company’s market capitalisation stood at INR 12,780.84 Cr at the aforementioned time, with 18.29 Lakh shares traded by then.

The stock opened today’s trading session 8.6% lower at INR 2,095.00, inching close to its lower price circuit of INR 1,949.40.

The B2B marketplace reported a 10.4% sequential decline in net profit, posting INR 121 Cr in Q3 FY25 compared to INR 135.1 Cr in Q2 FY25.

Despite reporting a 48% year-on-year increase in net profit from INR 81.9 Cr in the same period last year, the company experienced a quarterly drop in paying subscribers, which fell by 3,715 compared to the September quarter. 

This marked IndiaMART’s first quarterly decline in paying subscribers since Q1 FY22.

Brokerage firm Nomura termed the drop in paying subscribers as “unexpected,” contrasting with its expectation of a 2,000-subscriber addition.

Nomura subsequently downgraded IndiaMART’s stock to a “reduce” rating from its previous “neutral” rating and slashed the price target to INR 1,900 from INR 3,150, representing a 17% downside from Tuesday’s closing levels.

Even on the yearly matrix, supplier storefronts and paying supplier additions were largely muted, rising 5% YoY to 8 Mn and 1% YoY to 214K, respectively in the reported quarter.

However, another brokerage firm Motilal Oswal maintained its “buy” rating on the stock but reduced its price target to UNR 2,600, a potential upside of 13% from Tuesday’s closing. 

The brokerage firm remained positive on strong fundamental growth in operations for IndiaMART. 

It supports this idea by pointing to the rapid digitisation among SMEs, the demand for buyers outside their usual circles, a strong network effect, a market share of over 70% in its industry, and the potential to increase its average revenue per user (ARPU) due to low price sensitivity.

For Q3 FY25, IndiaMART’s revenue from operations surged 16% to INR 354.3 Cr from INR 305.3 Cr in the December quarter last year. 

Sequentially, the top-line growth was muted as operating revenue rose a mere 1.9% from INR 347.7 Cr.

IndiaMART’s stock has witnessed a market slump in both short and long-term period. While the stock gave a negative return of 6.34% in the last month from the current market price, it slumped 13.52% in the last year. 

IndiaMART was listed on the stock exchanges on July 4, 2019, its shares listed at a 21% premium to issue price at INR 1,180 on BSE. 

Founded in 1999 by Dinesh Agarwal, IndiaMART is one of the oldest internet firms in India. The company connects buyers with sellers across 58 industries and 98K product categories such as consumer electronics, chemicals & dyes, construction and raw materials, clothing and apparel, cosmetics and personal care, pharmaceuticals and automobiles among others. 

IndiaMART has invested in several new-age tech companies, including fintech startup Vyapar, legal tech startup Legistify, fraud detection startup IDfy, omnichannel inventory and warehouse management startup EasyEcom, HR tech startup Zimyo, logistics automation startup Fleetx, among others

The post IndiaMART Shares Hit Fresh 52-Week Low After Q3 Results appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India is looking to allow trading of shares of companies on the stock exchanges after the close of their initial public offerings (IPO).

SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch said at an event that the regulator is actively looking at allowing ‘when-listed’ securities to trade on the country’s stock exchanges, Reuters reported. 

‘When-listed’ securities refer to those securities that are available for trading between the close of a company’s IPO and before its listing. However, there isn’t any official provision to allow this trade as of now. 

The chairperson said that there is a lot of interest in investors for trading these shares. “We feel that if investors want to do that, why not give them that opportunity in a proper, regulated way,” she added.

The statement from the SEBI chairperson comes at a time when India is witnessing a IPO boom since last year. 

As per Market Intelligence data, the overall IPO count grew over 22% to 298 by December 3, 2024 from 243 in the entirety of 2023. 

Fundraising volume saw an even more dramatic increase, jumping 139% to INR 1.41 Lakh Cr from INR 58,827 Cr in the previous year. 

On similar lines, the number of IPOs of new-age tech companies surged to 13 from just five in 2023.

The markets regulator has taken a number of steps in recent times to curb grey market trading and curb the IPO frenzy, especially for companies listing on SME exchanges. 

The market regulator also tightened its rules for SME IPOs last year, capping the offer for sale by selling shareholders at 20% of the total issue size. Besides, selling shareholders cannot sell more than 50% of their holding during the IPO. 

Among other measures, the markets regulator reduced the timeline for listing for initial public offering to T+3 from T+6 earlier. 

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Cross-border payment startup Skydo has secured the licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to function as a Payment Aggregator-Cross Border (PA-CB) entity. 

The company said this authorisation strengthens Skydo’s commitment to creating compliant, seamless, cost-effective payment solutions for Indian exporters. 

The licence will enable the startup to process cross-border online transactions for the import and export of goods and services.

Apart from Skydo, other players like Cashfree Payments, Amazon Pay, and Adyen India secured the PA-CB licence from the RBI last year. 

Skydo aims to scale its payment volumes by tenfold over the next 18-24 months and plans to expand its services to include import payments and additional trade corridors globally.

On the RBI’s nod, Skydo’s cofounder and CEO Srivatsan Sridhar, said, “As an Indian fintech startup with global ambitions, we are thrilled to receive this approval. We plan to scale our payments volume by 10X over the next 18-24 months, expand to support import payments, and build out more trade corridors globally.”

“Starting with payments, we will extend our offerings to credit, tax compliance, treasury services and  Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS) reconciliation. Together, these products will be a comprehensive cross-border financial operating system for any exporter. By bringing cross-border payments into the Payment Aggregator framework, RBI has enabled companies like us to build superior technological products and power the international ambitions of Indian businesses,” said Skydo cofounder Movin Jain. 

Founded by Jain and Sridhar in 2022, Skydo is a cross-border payment startup which enables businesses to open international accounts (collection accounts) with the help of its global banking partners. Skydo claims to have catered to over 12,000 exporters, processing more than $250 Mn in annual export payments. 

 Last year, Skydo bagged $5 Mn (around INR 41 Cr) in its Pre-Series A funding round from existing backer Elevation Capital and other undisclosed angel investors.

The Bengaluru-based startup then intended to deploy the fresh capital in scaling its operations and strengthening risk monitoring and compliance stacks. In future, the company plans to introduce several first-to-market offerings for India’s growing MSME export sector. 

The post Skydo Gets RBI Licence To Offer Cross Border Payments appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Foodtech major Zomato reported its financial numbers for the third quarter (Q3) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) on January 20. Here’re the key takeaways from the reported financials: 

Profit Slumps 57%

The foodtech major’s consolidated net profit declined 57.2% to INR 59 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 138 Cr in the same quarter last year. Sequentially, profit tanked 66% from INR 176 Cr in Q2 FY25. 

A slowdown in the food delivery segment and increase in Blinkit’s adjusted EBITDA loss due to rising competition in quick commerce were among the major reasons behind the decline in the bottom line. 

Zomato’s chief financial officer Akshant Goyal said that losses will continue in the near term in the quick commerce segment. “As we continue to bring forward store expansion, our networks may have to carry a greater load of under-utilized stores which will impact near-term profits in the next one or two quarters. These investments will however also likely result in GOV growth remaining meaningfully above 100%, at least for FY25 and FY26,” he added.

Meanwhile, Zomato’s operating revenue surged over 64% to INR 5,405 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 3,288 Cr in the same quarter last year. Sequentially, it rose 12.6% from INR 4,799 Cr in Q2 FY25.

Overall, Zomato’s consolidated adjusted EBITDA (excluding ESOP costs) soared 120% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 285 Cr in Q3 FY25. This primarily came on the back of improvements in food delivery adjusted EBITDA margin (as a percentage of GOV) to 4.5% during the quarter under review from 3% a year ago.

Food Delivery’s Growth Slows 

Despite other Zomato verticals witnessing over 90% growth, the core food delivery vertical registered a muted growth. The adjusted revenue for the segment grew 17% to INR 2,413 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 2,062 Cr in Q3 FY24. 

The food delivery vertical’s GOV grew 17% YoY to INR 9,913 Cr in Q3 FY25. This GOV growth was slightly below the company’s expectation of  20%+ YoY GOV growth. Sequentially, too, the food delivery GOV grew 2%, lower than the sequential growth of 5% in Q2 FY25. 

Giving his reasoning for the slowdown in the food delivery vertical, the CEO of Zomato’s food delivery business, Rakesh Ranjan, said, “Currently we are going through a broad-based slowdown in demand which started during the second half of November. Notwithstanding the current slowdown, we are positive about a recovery soon and remain confident of the long term outlook of 20%+ yearly GOV growth in the business given the strong fundamentals”.

On the operational front, average monthly transacting users on Zomato’s food delivery platform jumped more than 9% to 20.5 Mn  from 18.8 Mn in the year-ago period. Sequentially, the number declined marginally from 20.7 Mn.

Competition Takes A Toll On Blinkit

Amid the rising competition in the quick commerce segment, Blinkit’s adjusted EBITDA loss surged over 13X to INR 103 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 8 Cr in the preceding quarter on account of upfront investments made during the period. 

On a year-on-year basis, adjusted EBITDA loss grew 15.7% in Q3 FY25 from INR 89 Cr in Q3 FY24. 

Notwithstanding this, the heavy capex bet paid off as Blinkit’s revenue grew 117% to INR 1399 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 644 Cr in Q3 FY24. 

The quick commerce platform also surpassed the 1,000-store mark in the quarter under review, with 368 net new store additions in the preceding two quarters (152 in Q2 FY25 and 216 in Q3 FY25). During the same two previous quarters, the company added 1.3 Mn sq ft of warehousing space, accounting for 30%+ of its overall warehousing network.

“In addition to the operating expenditure mentioned above, we have also incurred capital expenditure of ~INR 370 Cr in the last two quarters for setting up the 368 net new stores and 1.3 Mn sqft of warehousing space. The higher capex is also the key reason behind the quarterly increase in depreciation. As mentioned earlier, we expect the steady-state impact of depreciation to be about 0.5-1% of GOV,” Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa said. 

He further said that Blinkit has not seen any attrition in core customers despite the rise in competition. However, the competition has led to a pause in margin expansion in the business, which, he expects, to be temporary.

This follows parent Zomato earlier this week infusing around INR 500 Cr (about $57.7 Mn) in the quick commerce platform. 

Going Out Business Continues Stellar Performance

The going out vertical continued its dream run in the quarter under review. The foodtech giant’s going out arm saw a 255% jump in operating revenue to INR 259 Cr in Q3 FY25 as against INR 73 Cr in the year-ago period. 

On similar lines, the going out vertical’s GOV zoomed 191% YoY to INR 2,495 Cr in the quarter under review from 858 Cr in Q3 FY24. Excluding Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business, which Zomato acquired in August last year, the GOV for the going out business jumped 119% YoY and 15% QoQ.  

Zomato unveiled its latest app for the segment, District, in November 2024. In its quarterly shareholders’ letter, the company said that the traction has been good for District, adding that the app has crossed the 6.5 Mn downloads mark since launch. 

“There is still a lot of work to be done towards strengthening our dining-out offering and building a leadership position in entertainment ticketing, which is where we will focus most of our energies for at least the next couple of years,” said Rahul Ganjoo, head of District. 

Hyperpure On Steady Growth Course 

Zomato’s B2B arm Hyperpure, which supplies fruits, vegetables and groceries to restaurants, saw its revenue nearly double (95%) to INR 1,671 in Q3 FY25 from INR 859 Cr in Q3 FY24. Sequentially, it rose from 1,473 Cr in Q2 FY25.

Meanwhile, Hyperpure’s adjusted EBITDA loss improved to INR 19 Cr from an adjusted EBITDA loss of INR 34 Cr in the year-ago period. The adjusted EBITDA loss stood at INR 21 Cr in Q2 FY25. 

The 10-Min Food Delhivery Viability

Blinkit launched its 10-minute food delivery app Bistro in December 2024. Following that, Zomato also rolled out a 15-minute delivery service earlier this month.

Commenting on this focus on 10-15 minute food deliveries, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said data shows that bringing down delivery time creates incremental demand for restaurant food and leads to “meaningful expansion” for the demand on the platform. 

“We believe something similar can happen with 10-15 mins deliveries. This is also the reason why we experimented with Zomato Instant, but we could not find the right economic model and hence shut it down,” Goyal added.

Bistro, he said, aims to target the large “in-office market” which wants quick access to snacks, meals, and beverages within 10-15 mins. While noting that this market is currently addressed by on-site vendors and vending machines, he said that the users are not being catered to evenly across geographies by the existing food delivery options. 

But, Zomato is currently trying to figure out the product-market-fit for Bistro. 

“Bistro is… creating infrastructure and working with food researchers, producers, chefs, and restaurants to provide a proof of concept. If we manage to find product-market fit and profitability, our hope is that this platform could be replicated by different restaurants and cuisine types where demand exists,” added Goyal. 

Meanwhile, Zomato is helping the restaurants listed on its platform deliver their food items in under 15 minutes by curating their menu items and providing a dedicated delivery fleet. The company plans to scale this service, which is currently available in select cities, over time.

Shares of Zomato ended Monday’s (January 20) trading session 3.14% lower at INR 240.95 on the BSE. 

The post Zomato Q3: Rising Quick Commerce Competition Hits Bottom Line appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed gaming major Nazara Technologies’ board has approved the proposal to raise INR 495 Cr from Axana Estates LLP through a preferential allotment of shares.

Following this investment, Axana Estates will hold a 5.4% stake in Nazara Technologies. 

In an exchange filing today (January 20), the company said, “Axana Estates LLP, whose designated partners include Arpit Khandelwal and Mithun Sacheti, will infuse INR 495 Cr into the company to acquire ~5.40% stake through a preferential issue of equity shares at a price of INR 990 per share.”

Khandelwal is the founder and managing partner of Plutus Wealth Management LLP and Sacheti is the founder of CaratLane. 

Khandelwal is already a shareholder in Nazara, owning an 8.1% stake as of December 2024. He owns another 11.82% stake in the company through Plutus Wealth Management LLP. 

The partnership aims to accelerate Nazara’s growth and reinforce its vision of becoming a global leader in the gaming and digital entertainment sectors.

The preferential issue has also triggered an open offer in which Plutus Wealth Management LLP and Axana Estates LLP, along with Junomoneta Finsol Private Limited  PACs), will acquire an additional 26% stake in Nazara from its stakeholders. 

Post the open offer, the combined shareholding of Axana Estates, Plutus, Junomoneta, and the existing promoters (Vikash and Nitish Mittersain) is expected to reach approximately 61.5% of Nazara Technologies.

Commenting on the development, Nazara CEO Nitish Mittersain said, “Nazara is set for global growth, and we are excited to partner with Arpit & Mithun, who share our vision. Their belief in our potential and expertise will help us scale new heights, positioning Nazara as a unique global gaming company from India.” 

In addition to this, Nazara also said that its board has approved acquisition of two popular game IPs from ZeptoLab to double down on its mobile gaming portfolio. The company would acquire the IP rights of two popular mobile gaming titles – ‘CATS: Crash Arena’ and ‘King of Thieves’ – for a total consideration of $7.7 Mn (about INR 67 Cr). 

The post Nazara To Raise INR 495 Cr Via Another Preferential Issue appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The approval by the board of gaming major Nazara Technologies to raise INR 495 Cr has triggered an open offer from its existing investors Plutus Wealth Management LLP, Axana Estates LLP and Junomoneta Finsol Private Limited (PAC) to acquire an additional 26% stake in the company from its stakeholders. 

As per the open offer, the three existing backers will acquire up to 2.4 Cr (2,40,64,121) equity shares at an offer price of INR 990 for a total consideration worth INR 2,382.34 Cr. This offer price is a 7.19% discount from Nazara’s closing price at INR 1,066.80 apiece on the BSE today (January 20). 

“Assuming full acceptance of the open offer, the total consideration payable by the acquirers and PAC under the open offer at the offer price will be INR 23,82,34,79,790.00 payable in cash (“offer consideration”),” the notice for the open offer read. 

As per the preferential issue announced by Nazara today, Axana Estates LLP, whose designated partners include Arpit Khandelwal and Mithun Sacheti, will infuse INR 495 Cr into the company to acquire about 5.40% stake at a price of INR 990 per share.

Khandelwal is the founder and managing partner of Plutus Wealth Management LLP and Sacheti is the founder of CaratLane, now completely owned by Titan. Khandelwal and Plutus Investments hold stakes in Junomoneta.

Post the open offer, the combined shareholding of Axana Estates, Plutus Wealth Management LLP, Junomoneta Finsol Private Limited (PAC), existing promoters (Vikash Mittersain and Nitish Mittersain) and promoter group will together hold around 61.5% stake in Nazara Technologies.

Meanwhile, Nazara’s board today also approved increasing the limits to provide loans, give guarantees or provide security to INR 3,500 Cr from INR 2,931.51 Cr earlier.

Meanwhile, the company’s board has also approved acquisition of two popular game IPs from ZeptoLab for a total consideration of $7.7 Mn (about INR 67 Cr).

The post Mithun Sacheti’s Axana Estates, Plutus To Launch Open Offer For Nazara  appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed fintech Paytm’s board has approved the sale of its 100% stake in its wholly owned subsidiary, Xceed IT Solutions Private Limited. 

Existing Directors of Xceed, Vineet Narang and Sabina Kamal, will buy these stakes for consideration worth INR 60,728.  

As per the exchange filing, Xceed’s net worth is INR 5.17 Lakhs and it currently has no business operations.

In an exchange filing today (January 20), Paytm said, “The Board of Directors of our subsidiary, Mobiquest Mobile Technologies Private Limited at its meeting held on January 20, 2025, approved the sale of 100% stake in its wholly owned subsidiary, Xceed IT Solutions Private Limited (Xceed).”

Formed in 2005, Xceed IT Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mobiquest Mobile Technologies Private Limited, which operates in the field of information technology, specifically engaged in computer programming, consultancy, and related activities. 

Post this transaction, Xceed will cease to be a step-down subsidiary of the company. The expected date of completion of the sale is February 28. 

The development comes on the sidelines of the company announcing its Q3 FY25 numbers today. Paytm trimmed its consolidated net loss by 6% to INR 208.5 Cr in the December quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q3 FY25) from INR 221.7 Cr in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

The Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company posted a net profit of INR 930 Cr in the quarter ended September 30, 2024 on account of the sale of its movie and events ticketing business to foodtech major Zomato.

Revenue from operations declined 36% to INR 1,827.8 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 2,850.5 Cr in the year-ago period. However, it rose 10% from INR 1,659.5 Cr on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Including other income of INR 188.7 Cr, total revenue stood at INR 2,016.5 Cr in the quarter ended December 31, 2024 as compared to INR 2,999.1 Cr in the same quarter last year.

The fintech giant managed to bring down its overall expenses by 31% to INR 2,219.8 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 3,216.3 Cr in Q3 FY24

The post Paytm Board Approves Sale Of 100% Stake In Subsidiary Xceed appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Centre is reportedly planning to allocate a corpus to the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to oversee a fund of funds for secondary transactions.

As per ET, the fund will enable SIDBI to sponsor venture capital investors engaged in secondary deals.

The government believes that the fund will facilitate timely exits for investors, preventing them from making hasty decisions due to liquidity constraints. 

“The evolution of funds focused on secondaries in places like the US and China has shown that it leads to timely exits for early investors… and this prevents them from taking short-term decisions,” the report cited a senior government official as saying. 

Venture capitalists are rewarded for supporting the startup ecosystem for years via IPOs and secondary trades. 

As per a report, VC funds earning for 2024 was estimated to be over $4 Bn through IPOs and public market sales, double of what they earned in 2023 and 2.5 times that of 2022.

Some of them minted returns of over 30X from startups like Swiggy and BlackBuck. Prominent investors who turned their early startup bets into remarkable successes on Dalal Street in 2024 included Peak XV Partners, Accel, Matrix Partners, Tiger Global, SoftBank, Temasek, Elevation Capital, Prosus, Alpha Wave, among others. 

It is pertinent to note that at least two India-focused funds in secondary transactions have been launched in recent times. 

Last year, Silicon Valley-based VC firm Tribe Capital partnered with homegrown investment firm Oister Global to launch its first alternative investment fund dedicated to secondary transactions in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

In the same year, Peak XV Partners’ ex-managing director Piyush Gupta launched a secondaries-focussed venture capital (VC) firm, Kenro Capital.

The Indian government has been introducing initiatives aimed at a conducive environment for innovation and entrepreneurship in India. The Startup India initiative, launched by the Indian government in 2016 is one such. 

Among other initiatives, SIDBI manages a Fund of Funds that has allocated over INR 11,000 Cr to various venture capital and venture debt firms. 

The government has also formed the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) with an outlay of INR 945 Cr to provide financial assistance for startups at critical stages such as proof of concept, prototype development and product trials.

The post Centre To Allocate Corpus To SIDBI To Run Secondary Deal Fund: Report appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Zaggle has entered into agreements with Neuroglia Health Private Limited and HT Media Limited to offer its services. 

Zaggle would provide HT Media its Zaggle Save (Employee expense management & benefits) product while it would provide its employee reward program Zaggle Propel reward platform to Neuroglia Health. 

This comes after the company earlier this month inked pack to offer its offeings to quick commerce major Zepto’s parent KiranaKart Technologies. 

Zaggle in December told Inc42 that it is eyeing to ink over 200 new contracts with enterprises over the next few months. It currently has around 3,200 corporate customers. 

Founded in 2011 by Raj Narayanam, Zaggle currently provides expenses, payments, and corporate employee benefits solutions to enterprises. It offers a range of SaaS products, such as Zaggle Save for managing expenses and rewards, Zaggle EMS for expense management, and Zaggle Propel for employee rewards and incentives. 

The company claims to have issued 50 Mn prepaid cards in India through partner banks and serves over 3 Mn users. Last month, the company raised nearly INR 595 Cr via qualified institutional placement (QIP).  

Recently, Inc42 reported that it is eyeing three new investments and acquisitions by March 2025 to expand its offerings and top line. Not to mention, the company has been on an acquisition shopping in recent times. 

While it acquired a 98.32% stake in Span Across IT Solutions for INR 32.07 Cr in September, it bought a 26% stake in Mobileware (now known as ‘86400’) for INR 15.6 Cr in the same month. 

On the financial front, Zaggle posted a 167.67% jump in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to INR 20.29 Cr in Q2 FY25 from INR 7.58 Cr in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations zoomed 64.21% to INR 302.55 Cr from INR 184.24 Cr in Q2 FY24. 

Shares of Zaggle have surged 220.45% from their listing price of INR 164 in September last year. The stock ended Friday’s trading session 0.64% lower at INR 524.55 on the BSE. The stock has gained nearly 141.88 in the last year. 

The post Zaggle Inks Pacts To Offer Services To Neuroglia Health, HT Media appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed fintech Paytm has expanded its employee stock option plan (ESOP) by granting 2.03 Lakh (2,03,137) stock options under its ESOP Plan 2019.

In an exchange filing on January 17, the company said, “We wish to inform you that the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Board of the Company (“Committee”), at its meeting held on January 17, 2025, has approved the grant of 2,03,137 stock options to the eligible employees under One 97 Employees Stock Option Scheme 2019 (“ESOP 2019”).”

The company stated that each stock option can be converted into one fully paid-up equity share with a face value of INR 1 each.

Based on Paytm’s stock closing price of INR 899.65 apiece on Friday, the total value of these stock options is estimated at INR 18.27 Cr.

In addition to the new stock options, Paytm also reported the cancellation or lapse of 17,68,469 stock options. This includes the cancellation of 44,848 stock options, in line with the terms and conditions of the ESOP 2019 plan.

Earlier this month, Paytm allotted 1.48 Lakh equity shares to its eligible employees under various employee stock option plan (ESOP) schemes.

Paytm has seen several developments related to ESOPs in recent months. In December 2024, the fintech major allotted 2.44 Lakh equity shares to eligible employees under its ESOP 2019 and ESOP 2008 schemes. 

Additionally, it also set aside 4 Lakh equity shares for its eligible employees under ESOP 2019 in November 2024.

Among the other developments, eight Paytm officials have settled the case with the markets regulator. These individuals paid a cumulative sum of INR 3.32 Cr, without admitting or denying the findings of SEBI, to settle the case. 

On the financial front, the fintech major turned profitable in Q2 FY25, posting a net profit of INR 930 Cr as against a loss of INR 292 Cr in the year-ago period. The profitability came on the back of the company selling its ticketing arm Paytm Insider to Zomato for INR 2,048 Cr in the September quarter. 

In the December quarter, Paytm sold its stock acquisition rights (SARs) in Japanese digital payments firm PayPay Corporation for INR 2,364 Cr ($279.19 Mn) to SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. 

The company is set to disclose its financial numbers for Q3 FY25 on January 20. 

The post Paytm Expands ESOP Pool With 2.03 Lakh Stock Options appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed foodtech major Zomato has infused around INR 500 Cr (about $57.7 Mn) in its quick commerce arm Blinkit. 

As per Blinkit’s regulatory filings, it allotted 2,537 equity shares at an issue price of INR 19.7 Lakh (19,70,181) each to raise INR 499.83 Cr from Zomato. 

“… pursuant to the resolution passed by the board of directors in its meeting held on January 6, the company has allotted 2,537 equity shares on the right issue basis,” the filing said. 

The development comes nearly two months after Zomato raised INR 8,500 Cr (around $1 Bn) through its first qualified institutional placement (QIP) to expand its quick commerce business Blinkit and support other key growth initiatives.

In its QIP document, the company said it will utilise about INR 2,137 Cr from the issue towards setting up and running operations of Blinkit’s dark stores and Hyperpure’s warehouses.

Prior to this, Zomato injected INR 300 Cr in Blinkit in June last year. Zomato then informed that its cumulative investment in Blinkit stood at INR 2,300 Cr, since the latter’s acquisition in August 2022. 

The development comes at a time when the competition in the quick commerce segment is rising rapidly. With the fund infusion, Zomato would look to further expand and strengthen its quick commerce offering.

Earlier this month, Blinkit officially announced the launch of its 10-minute food delivery app Bistro.

Zomato’s food delivery business reported a gross order value (GOV) of INR 9,690 Cr in Q2 FY25, while Blinkit’s GOV stood at INR 6,132 Cr for the same period. 

Its counterpart Swiggy reported a GOV of INR 7,191 Cr, while its quick commerce arm Instmart reported a GOV of INR 3,382 Cr in Q2 FY25.

A report by brokerage firm JM Financial today said that Blinkit’s supply chain investments are expected to help the company better compete with its peers. The brokerage noted that Zomato is the only major hyperlocal delivery company in India that is currently generating free cash flows on a consolidated basis.

JM Financial expects Zomato’s quick commerce arm Blinkit to register a sequential GOV growth of 22.2% in Q3 FY25 on the back of a surge in order volumes driven by an increase in monthly transacting users.

Zomato reported a 389% year-on-year increase in its consolidated net profit to INR 176 Cr in Q2 FY25. However, net profit dropped 30% sequentially due to increase in expenses on account of Blinkit’s expansion spree.

Shares of Zomato ended today’s trading session 2.7% higher at INR 248.75 apiece on the BSE.

The post Zomato Infuses INR 500 Cr Into Blinkit appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Reflecting on the immense potential within the electric vehicle sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has projected that the number of electric vehicles in India may see an eightfold rise by the end of this decade.

PM Modi was addressing the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today (January 17). 

He also said that the sale of EV vehicles has increased 640 times in the past decade, reachng 16.80 Lakh in 2024 from 2,600 EVs sold annually ten years ago. 

Modi cited initiatives like the FAME-2 scheme, PM E-Drive scheme, PM E-Bus, Battery Storage Initiatives behind this robust growth. 

Conveying the success of the FAME-2 scheme launched five years ago, the Prime Minister said that the scheme provided over INR 8,000 Cr in subsidies, supporting the purchase of 16 Lakh electric vehicles, including more than 5,000 e-buses and the development of charging infrastructure. 

He noted that over 1,200 electric buses funded by the Centre are operational in Delhi, showcasing the scheme’s impact.

The PM highlighted the introduction of the PM E-Drive scheme in the third term, which aims at supporting 28 lakh EV purchases, including two-wheelers, eambulances and etrucks, while also installing 70,000 fast chargers nationwide. 

The e-bus service will enable the operation of 38,000 e-buses in smaller cities, he added. 

Highlighting India’s growing appeal to global investors, he emphasised that the government’s policies are creating a robust EV manufacturing ecosystem and strengthening the country’s EV value chain.

Underlining the vision of the “Seven Cs for mobility solutions”: Common, Connected, Convenient, Congestion-free, Charged, Clean, and Cutting-edge, Modi said that the focus on green mobility is part of this vision. 

He remarked that India was building a mobility system that supports both the economy and ecology, reducing the import bill for fossil fuels. 

The Prime Minister also underlined growth in the broader automobile sector saying that the industry has experienced nearly 12% growth in the past year, with annual car sales reaching approximately 2.5 Cr. 

He noted that factors including a large youth population, an expanding middle class, rapid urbanisation, modern infrastructure development and affordable vehicles through initiatives like ‘Make in India’ have contributed to propelling this growth. 

On the infrastructure front, he said that the government has allocated over INR 11 Lakh Cr for infrastructure improvements, focusing on multi-lane highways and expressways to enhance travel ease. 

Meanwhile, advancement in technologies like FASTag and the National Common Mobility Card are also enhancing travel experiences. 

He said that over the past decade, new avenues for foreign direct investment (FDI) and global partnerships have been established, with the sector attracting over $36 Bn in FDI in just four years.

The post PM Modi Projects Eightfold Surge In EVs By Decade End appeared first on Inc42 Media.

EV fleet startup MoEVing has bought Euler Motors’ mobility business to expand its fleet.

The company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal but said that the buyout would help it add 300 new L5 vehicles to its fleet.

The company said that this acquisition positions it as the largest commercial electric vehicle fleet operator in India, increasing its fleet by 30%, and increasing to 1,400 L5 vehicles.

The company source told Inc42 that through this acquisition a total asset worth INR 15 Cr will now come under MoEVing with each of these L5 vehicles worth 5 Lakh. 

Besides, the company will also add around 50 more workforce to its team. EVonGO’s charging and parking spaces will also come along with this acquisition. 

The spokesperson further added that this is a strategic deal for Euler as they want to focus on their manufacturing, selling their EV fleet management business to MoEVing. 

This move combines EVonGO’s fleet with MoEVing’s existing operations, enhancing its presence in major cities like Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. 

MoEVingn CEO Vikas Mishra said, “This acquisition strengthens our presence in key regions, and we welcome the integration of a highly skilled team into our operations. By leveraging the synergies between our two companies, we aim to set new benchmarks in the EV logistics industry and lead the way in reducing carbon emissions.”

This development comes just two days after Euler Motor has raised up to $20 Mn (around INR 173 Cr) in debt from responsAbility Investments AG.

Founded in January 2021 by Vikash Mishra,  MoEVing is an EV logistics provided startup. While it claims to have over 3000 EV fleet, it provides its service to companies around ecommerce, consumer goods, logistics, and courier companies. It works with OEMs, driver-cum-owners, and financial institutions to help address. 

Founded in 2018 by Kumar, Euler Motors is an original equipment manufacturer for electric vehicles. It aims to increase the adoption of EV in India and contribute to the country’s mobility efforts. The New Delhi-based startup caters to the logistics, commercial mobility and ecommerce sector with its electric mini trucks for heavy and light loads.

The post MoEVing Buys Euler Motors’ Mobility Biz appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of PB Fintech nosedived as much as 6% to reach INR 1,706.00 during the intraday trading seasion on the BSE today (January 17).

However, the shares recovered later, trading 5.1% lower at INR 1718.65 as of 12:20 PM. The company’s market capitalisation stood at INR 78,923.99 Cr at the aforementioned time, with as many as 11.32 Lakh shares changing hands by then.

Notably, the company’s stock has been on a downward trajectory in recent times, giving a negative return of around 19% in the last month at the current market price. 

Earlier this week, brokerage firm Morgan Stanley assigned an ‘underweight’ rating to PB Fintech, citing lower-than-expected profit emergence and high stock valuations. 

This was a downgrade from the stock’s previous ‘equal-weight’ rating. Morgan Stanley has set a price target of INR 1,400 for the stock, representing a 14% downside from Friday’s closing price. 

Not to mention, the stock emerged as the second-biggest loser last week among 31 new-age tech stocks tracked by Inc42, with its shares dropping 16.20% weekly.

However, the stock has given a stellar performance in the larger time framework, skyrocketing 94.67% on a current market price basis over the past year.

Just three days ago,  the GST department conducted a raid on a wholly-owned subsidiary of insurtech major PB Fintech for search and inquiry in connection with some of the vendors of one of its subsidiaries. 

Earlier this month, on January 2, PB Fintech entered the healthcare segment through its new subsidiary, PB Healthcare Services Private Limited. Post that, its shares even touched a fresh all-time high of INR 2,254.95 on January 3.

On January 4, the company was also relieved of Commissioner of Income Tax-Appeal (CIT-A) imposed tax amounting to INR 166.12 Cr for the fiscal year 2015-16. 

It is pertinent to note that the company has been doing the diversification of its core financial services business lately. 

Last year, the company incorporated a subsidiary PB Pay as part of its plan to venture into the payment aggregator business.

Another of its subsidiaries, PB Financial Account Aggregator Private Limited (PBAA) received the account aggregator license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October 2024.

On the financial front, PB Fintech reported a consolidated net profit of INR 50.98 Cr in the second quarter (Q2) of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) against a loss of INR 21.11 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

Notably, this was the fourth consecutive profitable quarter for the company. During this period, revenue from operations jumped over 43% to INR 1,167.2 Cr in Q2 FY25 from INR 811.6 Cr in the year-ago period.

The post PB Fintech Stock Nosedives 6% To Reach INR 1,706.00 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of Paytm surged as much as 8% to reach INR 926.95 during the intraday trading session on the BSE today (January 16). 

However, the shares shed gains later, trading 4.75% higher at INR 899 at 12:25 AM. The company’s market capitalisation stood at INR 57.314.03 Cr at the time above, with trading volume at 70 Lakh by then. 

Paytm’s shares opened the day’s trading 3% higher at INR 883.80. The stock’s price ranged between INR 875 and INR 926.95 till 12:25 PM.

This comes two days after brokerage firm JM Financial predicted a bullish outlook for Paytm in the near future. Even yesterday (January 15), the stock climbed 4.86%. 

The brokerage anticipated a huge likelihood of the inclusion of Paytm in the MSCI India Standard Index, about seven months after it was removed from the index. 

Not to mention, Paytm lost its spot in the index amid a sharp downfall in its share price post the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) action on Paytm Payments Bank. 

It is pertinent to note that Paytm stocks have shown an upward trend in recent times. Last month on December 17, the stock attained a 52-week high mark of INR 1,063.00.

At its previous closing price, the stock has surged by 176.85% from its 52-week low figure of INR 310.00 in May, again which was triggered by the RBI’s regulatory clampdown.

Despite that, the stock has yielded a 20.8% return in the last year, surpassing the 5.34% yearly yield generated by the benchmark BSE index for the same period. 

Not to mention, certain developments in the recent past have also positively impacted this recovery in the share price. Be it the company receiving approval from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in October to onboard new UPI users or it reporting a profitable September quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q2 FY25). 

The company posted a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of INR 930 Cr in Q2 FY25 as against a loss of INR 292 Cr in the year-ago period. This return to the black was driven by Paytm’s selling of its movies and events ticketing business to foodtech major Zomato for INR 2,048 Cr in an all-cash deal.

Apart from this,  the brokerage firms too are showing their optimism towards the company’s stock. For instance, Bernstein raised its price target from INR 750 to INR 1,000, citing Paytm’s improved financial health and innovative product offerings.

The post Paytm Shares Rally 8% Intraday To Reach INR 926.95 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of Zomato surged as much as 7.27% to reach INR 261.75 during the intraday trading session on the BSE today (January 16) as Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA reaffirmed its ‘outperform’ rating for the foodtech major. 

However, the shares shed gains later, trading 1.17% higher at INR 246.8 at 11:33 AM. The company’s market capitalisation stood at INR 2.38 Lakh Cr at the time above, with as many as 3.54 Cr shares having changed hands by then.

The brokerage firm added Zomato’s stock to its ‘high conviction’ list, giving a target price of INR 400 per share. This price target marks an upside potential of 64%. 

While the stock has given a return of above 85% over the last year at the current market price value, it underwent a correction of around 17% in the last month. 

The brokerage firm viewed this decline as a buying opportunity, particularly as the quick commerce sector is anticipated to grow significantly, with a projected 51% revenue CAGR from FY24 to FY27.

It further pointed out that although margins may soften in the short term due to expansion efforts, the company’s overall profit pool is expected to expand substantially over the next three years. 

Yesterday the company also announced that its board meeting is set for January 20 to consider and approve the unaudited financial results (both standalone and consolidated) for the quarter and nine months ending December 31, 2024.

Recently, Zomato launched its 10-minute food delivery service Bistro. Its counterpart Swiggy too rolled out a new app, ‘SNACC’ offering the same food delivery service. 

Today’s rally comes two days after brokerage firm Jefferies conveyed that it foresees the inclusion of foodtech major Zomato and Jio Financial Services (JFS) in the benchmark index Nifty 50 soon. 

With this, Jefferies sees an inflow of $620 Mn to Zomato and $356 Mn to JFS. In its report, the brokerage said that the two players are likely to take the spot of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Britannia Industries on the index. 

Not to mention, Zomato was included in BSE Sensex in November this year. 

Earlier this month, Jefferies gave bearish outlook to Zomato. The brokerage firm has given the Sensex listed foodtech major a ‘Hold’ rating along with a price target (PT) of INR 275, which is a downside of 18% from its previous PT of INR 335 for Zomato.

The post Zomato Shares Surge Over 7% After CLSA Raises Target Price To INR 400  appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Droom has rolled out its new offering, Droom Rental, aiming to address the challenges in the automobile rental market. 

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the company said it has added this new category that leverages tech and AI to offer 25,000 plus automobiles across more than 9 categories including cars, buses, coaches, helicopters, planes, yachts, ambulances, scooters, bikes, and bicycles. 

The company claimed that Droom Rentals has already secured over 1,500 listings from over 100 rental suppliers across 25 plus cities within a week of its launch. 

“At present, the automobile rental market is highly unorganised, with serious trust deficit, lack of transparent pricing and non-standard experience with limited adoption of technology and AI for a $23 Bn automobile rental market in India,” the company said in a statement. 

“ While the ride-hailing segment has successfully integrated advanced technology and streamlined operations, other rental categories such as daily rental, corporate rental, wedding rental, employee transportation solution and event rental etc remain largely unorganized, inefficient and full of fragmented providers,” Droom said expressing its intention to tap into the unorganised rental market. 

Droom’s founder & CEO Sandeep Aggarwal said, “Automobile rental has been a long-standing pain-point for me as the sector lacks trust, transparency, standardization, large/diverse fleet or premium fleet option and technology played no role.”

Founded in 2014 by Sandeep Aggarwal, Droom offers an ecommerce platform where it connects used car dealers with customers. The startup also provides financing through its tie-ups with banks and NBFCs. The startup has secured a cumulative funding of $296.00 Mn to date. Spinny: Founded in 2015 and based in Gurgaon, Spinny operates as a pre-owned car trading platform. It allows users to select cars online, book test drives, and purchase vehicles. Spinny, Cars24, CarDekho are the competitors of Droom. 

The startup primarily earns revenue from commissions from buyers, income from seller subscriptions, and advertisement fees. 

On the financial front, Car marketplace Droom’s India entity halved its loss in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The startup managed to narrow its net loss by 55% to INR 62.1 Cr in FY23 from INR 137 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

However, its operating revenue also plunged during the year under review. Droom reported an operating revenue of INR 253.2 Cr in FY23, a decline of 34% from INR 384.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

The post Droom Rolls Out New Offering To Tap Into Automobile Rental Market appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India’s National Startup Day which is celebrated annually on January 16, recognises and promotes the vibrant startup ecosystem in the country. This year marks the fourth edition and many believe this is the most pivotal time for a nationwide spotlight on startups

On the eve of National Startup Day, Kunal Bahl cofounder and chairperson at Snapdeal told Inc42 that the Indian startup ecosystem has not only expanded dramatically in terms of numbers and funding but has also played a crucial role in job creation and innovation.

A recently published report mentions that the Indian startup ecosystem will contribute nearly 1.5% to India’s GDP, injecting around $120 Bn into the economy by 2030. 

But there’s a whole lot of room to grow even beyond this, and Bahl believes India has room for 2,500 listed new-age tech companies by 2050. 

The founder mentioned that National Startup Day gives us a chance to celebrate how far the startup ecosystem has come, crediting not just entrepreneurs, but also consumers, investors, and policymakers for their collective role in building and sustaining it. 

“National Startup Day is a celebration of everything that the ecosystem stands for—the rails that support it, all the people who work at startups (because they are the most important people who built this), the consumers who have given startups a chance to survive and thrive, and the investors who support these startups,” Bahl told Inc42. 

“I feel milestones must be celebrated because it’s hard to achieve what we have achieved as a country. Yes, we’ll have a lot of successful companies and a lot of listed New Age companies. But let’s not forget, up until a few years ago, there were serious doubts about the sustainability of the startup ecosystem, particularly whether we’d be able to build any enduring listed companies. A lot of those questions have now been put to rest.”

Pointing out the digital distance travelled by the ecosystem between 2007 when Bahl started and today, Bahl said, “In 2007, when I started, there were five to seven million internet users in India. Now, we are close to one billion. A lot of that growth has happened in the last 10 years after the internet revolution post-2017.”

Founded by Bahl and Rohit Bansal in 2010, Snapdeal earns revenue by rendering services and delivering products. In 2022, the ecommerce marketplace was clubbed into parent company AceVector, along with its subsidiaries like SaaS startup Unicommerce and private label play Stellaro Brands. 

Among these, Unicommerce went public in 2024, and is currently trading at a market cap of INR 1,580 Cr, having seen the ups and downs of the public markets. 

From Policies To The National Startup Day  

Underlining that we don’t give enough credit to our government, Bahl emphasised the government’s role in building a supportive environment for startups through innovative infrastructure, favourable policies and financial support. 

Among these are the digital public infrastructure aka the India Stack, DPIIT’s various measures to recognise startups and offer tax benefits, the central government’s INR 20,000 Cr fund of funds as well as the INR 900 Cr seed fund addressing early-stage funding gaps.

Bahl believes these funds have taken India to this current stage of maturity, and created a strong domestic bedrock of capital. The National Startup Day is another feather in the cap, as it centralises attention on startups. 

He added, “Without such domestic funding, our ecosystem would remain overly dependent on international markets, subject to the volatility of global funding cycles like funding winters and funding summers. While global markets still influence us, having a robust domestic foundation reduces the dramatic impact of external economic shifts.” 

While the Snapdeal cofounder praised the government’s role in abolishing the angel tax, he also sought changes around ESOP regulations. The founder also called attention to the outdated rule prohibiting promoters and founders from holding ESOPs, and hoped that the next phase of Startup India will address these gaps.  

Evolving Ambitions Of Indian Founders

The IPO spirit is well and alive in India, backed by improving policy changes, and the government’s efforts to ease the public market route for startups. 

Previously, founders aimed for acquisitions or exits through M&As, but IPOs have changed the reality. Today, there is a clear ambition among all founders to build enduring public companies while remaining profitable. 

“When we meet startups at the earliest stages, we ask them, ‘What do you want to do? What do you want to create?’. The answers are strikingly different now. All of them, without exception, want to create a public company. This mindset was unheard of until two or three years ago. Back then, the response was more like, ‘We’ll figure it out,’ or ‘Maybe some global company will buy us.’ It was always about acquisition or finding an exit strategy,” the founder noted. 

This forms the crux of his idea that India has room for 2,500 tech companies joining the public markets in the next 25 years. 

“We are already seeing signs of this in the startup ecosystem, but I believe it is still very much the tip of the iceberg. The number (2,500) sounds ambitious right now because we have only 30 or 40 listed startups, but remember, people didn’t think we’d even reach that number a few years ago,” he added. 

His optimism is fuelled by two factors. First, he pointed out that Indian public markets are characterised by a willingness to support companies that go public at earlier stages compared to markets like the US which usually favour more established firms.

The post National Startup Day: Snapdeal’s Kunal Bahl Envisions 2,500 Listed Startups By 2050 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of Swiggy surged as much as 6% to reach INR 492.60 during the intraday trading session on the BSE today (January 15).

However, the shares shed gains later, trading 5.53% higher at INR 465.00 as of 12:33 PM. The company’s market capitalisation stood at INR 1,09,840.61 Cr at the aforementioned time, with as many as 60 Lakh shares having changed hands by then.

Led by the broader market slump recently, the stock has given a negative return of around 3% in the last 5 days. At its previous close price, the stock is at a downside of 24.63% from its 52-week high of INR 617. 

Meanwhile, today’s rally in Swiggy’s stock came in alignment with the surge in broader Indian indices like Sensex and Nifty50. At 1:14 PM, Sensex was up 243.88 points or 0.32% at 76,743.51 while Nifty50 was also above 0.14% or 32.15 at 23,208.20. 

Not to mention, Swiggy’s counterpart Zomato’s shares also surged up to 5% on the intraday basis today.  

Recently, the Sriharsha Majety-led company rolled out a new app, ‘SNACC’, targeting a 15-minute food delivery service in select parts of Bengaluru. Afterwards, Zomato launched its 10-minute food delivery service Bistro. 

Showing apprehension around the launch of these apps, industry bodies like the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) have expressed plans to approach the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over their anti-competition practices. 

Since its listing on 10 November at INR 412 on the BSE, the stock has delivered a return of 12.86% of its previous closing price. This comes against its counterpart Zomato yielding 84.18% return on a yearly basis. 

On the financial front, the foodtech major expects its business to achieve adjusted EBITDA profitability on a consolidated level in the third quarter of the financial year 2025-26 (FY26).

Swiggy’s consolidated net loss declined nearly 5% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 625.53 Cr in Q2 FY25 while operating revenue jumped 30% to INR 3,601.45 Cr.

The post Swiggy Shares Jump 6% Intraday To INR 492.60 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In yet another standoff between political parties around misuse of AI, the Delhi police has filed five FIRs against the AAP for allegedly posting AI-generated photos and videos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the party’s official X handle.

All the five FIRs were filed against the AAP at the North Avenue police station following complaints by BJP members. 

As per PTI, citing police sources, they had received a complaint regarding some objectionable photos and videos of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister on the official X handle of the Aam Aadmi Party.

The alleged videos were posted by AAP on January 10 and 13.

One of the videos — which was made by the AI-deepfake technology — showed a scene from a 90s Bollywood flick where the faces of villains were swapped with that of BJP leaders and the audio was changed to a conversation on Delhi polls, an officer said.

After analysing the complaint, the officer said, an FIR was filed and an investigation has been initiated in the matter.

In response to these allegations, AAP dismissed the FIRs as politically motivated actions, saying that “false cases are being registered to divert attention from real issues concerning the people.”

It is pertinent to note that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has already issued a warning to political parties against the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, particularly in creating deepfakes and disseminating misinformation during election campaigns.

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