SoftBank, the technology company is preparing to divest its shares in Zomato as the lock-in period following the Blinkit deal comes to an end. On Friday a significant block of, over 51 lakh Zomato shares were traded, resulting in a 2% decline. Following the merger year, Zomato issued equity shares to Blinkit shareholders with SoftBank being one of the prominent stakeholders.
The lock-in period following the Blinkit deal’s conclusion expires today, likely prompting Japanese tech giant SoftBank to divest its Zomato shares soon. On Friday’s exchange, a notable 51 lakh shares of Zomato were traded as a block, resulting in a decline of over 2% in the stock’s value.
Last year, Zomato issued fresh equity shares to the Blinkit selling shareholders as part of their merger and acquisition arrangement. Zomato had secured a 12-month lock-in for these shares subsequent to the deal, a duration surpassing the standard six-month statutory lock-in.
Notably, the ownership of the majority of these shares is concentrated within three venture capital investors: SoftBank, Tiger Global, and Sequoia.
An assessment conducted by JM Financial has revealed that Zomato’s pre-IPO and ex-Blinkit shareholders have currently amassed substantial gains from their investments, albeit a significant portion of these gains remains unrealized.
Considering the substantial magnitude of these gains and drawing from the historical actions of these venture capital, private equity, and Chinese shareholders in recently publicized internet companies, it is plausible to infer that a notable portion of Zomato’s stock might soon become available for trading in considerable blocks. This projection was previously put forth by the brokerage in an earlier statement.
