Zomato, the leading online food delivery platform, witnessed a decline of close to 4 percent in its shares during intraday trading today on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), following reports of a significant block deal.
The reports indicated that over 2 percent of Zomato's equity, valued at approximately Rs 3,000 crore, was traded in the block deal.
Earlier speculations hinted at the possibility of a subsidiary of Ant Financial divesting its stake in Zomato. Recent news revealed that Ant Financial, an affiliate of China's Alibaba, intends to sell a 2 percent stake in Zomato, setting a minimum price of Rs 159.4 per share, which is approximately 5 percent lower than the market price on Tuesday.
Currently, AntFin Singapore Holding Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Ant Financial, holds a 6.32 percent stake in Zomato.
In a similar move, in November of the preceding year, another entity of Ant Group, Alipay Singapore Holdings, sold a 3.4 percent stake in Zomato for over Rs 3,300 crore.
Despite this recent setback, Zomato's shares have witnessed a remarkable surge of nearly 200 percent over the past year.
Brokerage firm CLSA has recently revised its target price for Zomato, raising it from Rs 181 to Rs 227, highlighting the platform's stable profitability in food delivery and quick commerce segments.
CLSA forecasts Zomato's food delivery business to achieve an adjusted EBITDA margin of 5-6 percent while anticipating its quick commerce segment to attain breakeven status by the fiscal year 2025.
Zomato's strong performance was further underscored by its consolidated net profit of Rs 138 crore in the quarter ending December, marking its third consecutive profitable quarter.
