Zomato shares rise following SoftBank's block deal report

Zomato's shares opened 2.5 percent higher on Friday morning following a report of a significant block deal worth Rs 1,040.50 crore, which involved the sale of a 1.1 percent stake in the food aggregator on the exchanges.

According to CNBC-TV18 reports, SoftBank’s SVF Growth Fund (Singapore) will look to sell 9.3 Cr shares in Zomato in the price range of INR 109.4 to INR 111.65 per share. The lower end of the spectrum represents a discount of more than 2% on the stock’s closing price on Thursday. Kotak Securities is managing the stake sale on behalf of the investors.

By 10:00 am, Zomato's shares were trading around 0.72 percent higher at Rs 112.45 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Earlier, reports indicated that SoftBank was planning to sell half of its remaining stake, equivalent to 1.1 percent, in Zomato via a block deal to raise approximately Rs 1,000 crore.

According to the company's most recent shareholding data, SoftBank held a 2.2 percent stake in Zomato through its entity SVF Growth (Singapore) Pte.

SoftBank, a significant investor in India's new-age companies, had previously conducted a block deal in August, selling shares worth Rs 940 crore in Zomato.

Softbank Divestment

The private equity firm has been actively realizing profits from its investments in India's new tech space, including divesting a 2.5 percent stake in PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar, for Rs 876 crores earlier in the month.