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Mumbai, March 16:
Zomato will be lending around $150 million to quick commerce start-up Blinkit’s parent Grofers India, as per the company’s regulatory filings. The company is also investing $5 million in food robotics and automation start-up Mukunda Foods acquiring 16.66 per cent stake.
The loan will be offered for a tenure of not more than one year, at 12 per cent interest per annum. The lending will happen in one or more tranches. This debt funding is part of its planned investment in the quick commerce space in India for which it had earmarked around $400 million in cash for over the next two years.
As per a previous report by BusinessLine, Zomato and Blinkit have signed a term sheet through which Blinkit will be merged with the company in a $700-800 million deal.
Robotic equipment maker
Separately, Mukunda is a food robotics company that designs and manufactures small robotic equipment to automate food preparation for restaurants. Their products enable restaurants to scale rapidly while maintaining consistency in food quality and customer experience across multiple outlets. Mukunda also helps restaurants to become more efficient by reducing manpower cost, wastage and increase kitchen throughput.
“Our investment will help Mukunda Foods scale faster, help reduce restaurant food prices, expand margins, and enhance customer delight,” Zomato said in the filing.
Mukunda’s revenue plunged more than half in FY21 due to Covid, touching . ₹32.47 million down from ₹103. 03 million in FY20.
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