Zomato denies any offer to acquire logistics platform Shiprocket for $2 bn (Lead)

Online food platform Zomato on Thursday said it has not made any offer to acquire homegrown logistics solution provider Shiprocket for nearly $2 billion (more than Rs 16,600 crore).

Reacting to a Bloomberg report which claimed, citing sources, that Zomato has made an offer to buy Shiprocket but no final decision has been taken on the deal yet, Zomato vehemently denied making any such offer.

The company said it “would like to caution investors against such incorrect news floating in the market”.

“We remain focused on our existing businesses with no plans for any acquisition at this moment. Kindly note that the company does not comment on media speculation but is clarifying this information out of abundant caution, given the large size of the deal mentioned in the news article and the uncertainty that it may create in the market,” the company noted.

In August last year, Zomato-backed Shiprocket, also backed by Info Edge, Temasek and Lightrock, raised $33.5 million that took its valuation to around $1.2 billion.

Zomato, in the same month, completed the acquisition of quick commerce company Blinkit (formerly Grofers) and its warehousing and ancillary services business.

Zomato’s board approved the Rs 4,447 crore transaction to acquire Blinkit. The ancillary business was bought for Rs 61 crore.

Meanwhile, Shiprocket is reportedly in talks with top VC firms for a fund-raise upto $75-100 million, led by US-based investment firm Tribe Capital.

According to a TechCrunch report last week, citing sources, “the funding talks are ongoing and the terms may change”.

Both Tribe Capital and Shiprocket did not comment on the report. Bengaluru-headquartered Shiprocket aims to become IPO-ready in the next 12 to 18 months. It aims to disburse around Rs 100 crore to SMBs in the next 12 months.