E-commerce giant Amazon has reportedly approached Swiggy for a potential deal for its quick-commerce vertical Instamart.
What Happened: The Seattle-based online retailer is seeking to either pick a stake or buy out Instamart, The Economic Times said, citing three people aware of the matter. Amazon's interest in the arm comes after Swiggy reportedly confidentially filed draft documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an IPO.
There is no official offer so far, the report said, adding that there are multiple roadblocks to the deal. Swiggy may not agree to divest only its quick-commerce business, and Amazon is not expected to pursue opportunities in the food delivery sector, where growth is beginning to level off, the report said. Buying the entire company could also be expensive for Amazon, it added.
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India’s Quick-Commerce Growth: India’s quick-commerce market has been attracting significant interest amid aggressive growth. Swiggy's Instamart, Zomato's Blinkit and independent platform Zepto are the top three players in the segment, looking to disrupt online platforms by extending their reach beyond traditional grocery retail.
The latest development comes as Amazon's India team has been reportedly trying to launch its own quick-commerce initiative for months, but it will require a global clearance for that as it doesn’t offer the service in any of its markets globally.
Indian e-commerce behemoth Flipkart was also contemplating a partnership with the food delivery platform, ET reported in June. The discussions fell apart due to a mismatch in their in valuation.
As Swiggy prepares for its anticipated IPO later this year, early investors in the food delivery giant are selling their shares through secondary transactions, Moneycontrol reported earlier this month.
Investors such as Prosus, Accel, and Elevation Capital have partially cut their holdings in Swiggy, with the stakes acquired by new investors, including asset and wealth management firms such as 360 One, as well as high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), the report said.
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