BENGALURU: The steady Online food delivery platform Zomato on Tuesday said that its board of directors has approved a $150 million loan to Grofers India Private Limited (GIPL). Blinkit, formerly known as Grofers, operates in the quick commerce space. Zomato said in an exchange filing that it will grant a loan in one or more tranches.
“This loan will support the capital requirements of GIPL in the near term, and is in line with our stated intent of investing up to $400 million cash in quick commerce in India over the next 2 years,” the company said.
While various reports claim that Zomato and Blinkit might merge in a share-swap deal, people familiar with the development said, this merger will not happen immediately, and that the food delivery platform is only providing a loan to Blinkit at rate of interest on or above 12% per annum for a period of up to one year.
Blinkit is a 10-minute grocery and e-commerce platform. Its founder Albinder Dhindsa in a youtube video said, “We believe quick commerce is the future of commerce.” In August last year, Zomato invested $100 million for a 9.3% stake in Blinkit.Earlier, in its third quarter earnings, Zomato said that it will invest $400 million over next two years in the quick commerce segment.
Zomato also announced that it is acquiring a 16.66% stake in Mukunda Foods for $5 million. Mukunda is a food robotics company that designs and manufactures smart robotic equipment to automate food preparation for restaurants. This investment will help Mukunda to grow its business, Zomato said.