Big Investors Flock to Swiggy's IPO

By Aditya Kalra and Indranil Sarkar

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Big investors including Norway's sovereign wealth fund Norges and Fidelity have placed bids worth more than $15 billion in Swiggy's India IPO, 25 times the $605 million portion reserved for such investors, four sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Swiggy, a SoftBank-backed Indian food and grocery delivery giant, will next week launch its $1.35 billion IPO that will be the country's second-biggest stock offering this year. The bidding process is ongoing.

After a recent correction in stock markets, the company has reduced its estimated valuation from the IPO to $11.3 billion, 25% less than an earlier estimation of $15 billion.

Signalling growing interest in India's food delivery and "quick commerce" space – where goods are delivered in 10 minutes – the IPO anchor book reserved for big investors has already received bids worth more than $15 billion, said the sources, who declined to be named as the process is confidential.

Top investors include Norway's sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management, Fidelity International, and U.S.-based Capital Group, said three of the sources. The fourth source said BlackRock and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are also among investors.

None of the investors or Swiggy immediately responded to a request for comment.

Research firm Datum Intelligence expects quick commerce sales in India to hit $6 billion this year, up from $100 million in 2020.

Indian companies including Swiggy, main rival Zomato, and billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance are betting big on the quick commerce concept as they jostle to deliver everything from milk to cosmetics to iPhones within minutes, outpacing peers like Amazon on delivery times.