China's Antfin nearly halves stake in India's Zomato

China's Antfin nearly halves stake in India's Zomato

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Indian food delivery company Zomato is seen on its app on a mobile phone displayed in front of its company website in this illustration picture taken July 14, 2021. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration/File Photo

Alibaba Group’s Antfin Singapore sold shares worth 47.72 billion rupees ($570 million) in India’s Zomato on Tuesday, cutting its stake by nearly half in the food and grocery delivery platform to 2.2%, exchange data showed.

Antfin, which had a 4.3% stake in Zomato as of June 30, sold the shares in two separate block deals at 257.46 rupees and 257.17 rupees per share, both at a discount to the day’s closing price of 263.12 rupees.

The sale marks Antfin’s second such divestment in the company this year. It sold a 2.1% stake in March, following border conflicts between Beijing and New Delhi that led to India’s increasing scrutiny of Chinese businesses and investment.

In 2023, China-based Ant Group’s Alipay divested its entire 3.44% stake in Zomato.

App-based delivery companies such as Zomato and its IPO-bound rival Swiggy are drawing attention from investors, as India’s urban residents increasingly choose the convenience of ordering groceries and other household items online.

Zomato’s shares, which have risen more than two-fold so far this year, closed 0.4% higher on Tuesday.

($1 = 83.7320 Indian rupees)

Reuters

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