Indian food delivery unicorn Zomato Media Private Limited (Zomato) unveiled its plan to raise US$1.1bn from initial public offering (IPO). Against this backdrop, the company witnessed a staggering 100% jump in influencer conversations on Twitter during the last week of April compared to the previous week, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Zomato filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 28 April to raise US$1.1bn (INR82.5bn). This includes INR75bn of equity shares and an offer for sale (OFS) of INR7.5bn by  (India) Limited (Info Edge), the parent company of Naukri.com. It plans to launch the IPO by mid-2021 and will be listed on both Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Smitarani Tripathy, Influencer Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The influencers see Zomato’s announcement to file for IPO as big trigger for Info Edge, which holds more than 18% and its stake is worth about US$1bn. Info Edge, one of the largest investors of Zomato, has invested a total of US$61m. Influencers also expect Zomato’s proposed IPO is most likely to turn the sentiment of investors and startups towards to local ecosystem of capital raising.”

Reportedly, India is the second fastest growing food delivery market in the world. According to GlobalData, the total food take-away market in India is poised to reach US$4.3bn in 2022, driven by growing number of time-starved and convenience-seeking consumers along with growing Internet penetration.

Ms Tripathy adds: “The proposed IPO is in line with Zomato’s strategy to improve its finances to pursue merger and acquisitions while also warding off competition and address challenges such as price war.”

Below are a few most popular Influencer tweets captured by GlobalData’s Company Influencer Platform:

1. Samidha Sharma, Editor- Startups & Emerging Business, The Economic Times & ETtech.com:

“In August 2010, InfoEdge took 33% ownership in #Zomato in a seed round of Rs 4.8 crore. Zomato was valued at Rs 14.2 crore post money at the time. Today, almost 11 years later, InfoEdge still holds more than 18% in Zomato and now the company is valued at $5.4 B.”

https://twitter.com/samidhas/status/1387361936216518658

2. Sarah Perez, Reporter at TechCrunch:

“ExtraCrunch: Zomato juice: Indian unicorn’s proposed IPO could drive regional startup liquidity. “

httpsm://twitter.com/sarahintampa/status/1387448962685325315

3. Darshan Mehta, Ex- Business Journalist:

“Big trigger for Info Edge….zomato ipo.”

https://twitter.com/darshanvmehta1/status/1387075281802784778

4. Harshada Sawant, Founder and Principal Analyst at ZK Research:

“Another step closer to Big IPO Zomato… you cant deny this one…

#Infoedge Board approves OFS of upto 750cr in Zomato IPO details will be specified in DRHP

InfoEdge hols 19% in Zomato.

#IPOMarket”

https://twitter.com/AEHarshada/status/1387081298519281665