According to the port, Amazon India has shown interest in picking up a stake in Swiggy’s instant commerce arm, Instamart, which could be ahead of Swiggy’s Rs 10,414 crore IPO. The move could either be in the form of a pre-IPO placement or a complete buyout.
The Economic Times has highlighted several hurdles in the discussions and pointed out that no official proposal has been made yet. Swiggy isn’t just interested in selling its instant commerce, and Amazon isn’t keen on venturing into the slowing food delivery sector. Swiggy’s potential $10-12 billion price tag is also a major hurdle for Amazon, which typically doesn’t buy minority stakes.
This interest from Amazon coincides with its accelerated commerce expansion plans, which is a new area for the e-commerce giant. However, it will require regulatory approvals and setting up of a separate branch to accomplish this.
Swiggy wants to reduce the share of the process from 33% to less than 26% to avoid promoter classification ahead of the IPO, reflecting strategic developments in the startup world.
