Japan’s SoftBank is reportedly looking to completely exit food delivery platform Zomato in the coming months through open market transactions

What Happened: SoftBank has a 2.18% stake remaining in Zomato, which it intends to offload via block deals, Moneycontrol reported, citing sources. A recent block deal saw SoftBank selling 10 crore Zomato shares at an average floor price of ₹94.70 apiece, securing a profit of over ₹100 crore.

SoftBank’s association with Zomato began when the food tech unicorn acquired quick-commerce company Blinkit (formerly Grofers) in June 2022. Although SoftBank entered Zomato at just under ₹71, when combined with its original investment in Blinkit, which had been written down significantly, the average cost price for SoftBank works out to around ₹85 a share.

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What’s Going On: Since Zomato was not SoftBank’s original investment, the investor plans to divest its stake, sources told the business publication.

SoftBank was reported to be sitting on gains of around $550 million (₹4,550 crore) on its listed portfolio companies in India in the first half of 2023, largely driven by strong share price rallies in Zomato, Paytm, Delhivery, and PB Fintech.

SoftBank has been actively capitalizing on monetization opportunities in India this year, both in private and public markets. In June, it was reported that SoftBank would be selling stakes in Paytm and Zomato via open market transactions, as both companies had become profitable bets for the Japanese conglomerate.

SoftBank also sold a 2 percent stake in Paytm through open market operations, raising about $200 million.

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