Swiggy Valuation Soars Ahead of IPO, Baron Capital Ups Estimate to $15.1 Billion

US investment firm Baron Capital has significantly boosted its valuation of Swiggy, a leading Indian food delivery platform. According to regulatory filings submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Baron now estimates Swiggy’s worth to be $15.1 billion. This represents a substantial increase of nearly 25% from the $12.1 billion valuation Baron assigned to the company in December 2023. Notably, this upward revision follows a similar move by another early investor, Invesco, which raised its valuation of Swiggy to $12.7 billion in April.

IPO Preparations Underway

These developments come amidst Swiggy’s preparations for an initial public offering (IPO). The Bengaluru-based company received shareholder approval to launch its IPO, aiming to raise $1.25 billion. Furthermore, reports suggest that Swiggy confidentially filed IPO documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in May.

Pre-IPO Activity and Financial Performance

Prior to the IPO filing, Swiggy reportedly offered shares at a 20% discount to attract high net-worth individuals (HNIs) in a pre-IPO deal, as exclusively reported by Entrackr. Additionally, Entrackr also revealed Swiggy’s financial performance for the first three quarters of FY24, which showed a revenue of Rs 5,476 crore with a loss of Rs 1,600 crore. This follows FY23 figures where Swiggy generated Rs 8,265 crore in revenue but incurred a significant loss of Rs 4,179 crore.

Market Landscape and Valuation Comparisons

Swiggy is not the only Indian startup experiencing a valuation upswing. Pine Labs, Meesho, FirstCry, and Ola Electric have all seen similar increases in recent months. Notably, Swiggy’s primary competitor, Zomato, currently boasts a market capitalization of $18.7 billion, reaching a peak of $21 billion recently.

Contrasting Fortunes: Edtech Sector Struggles

In contrast to the positive outlook for Swiggy, Baron Capital has significantly downgraded its valuation of edtech giant Byju’s. As of March 2024, Baron estimates Byju’s to be worth only $24 million. This follows a similar downward trend initiated by BlackRock, which slashed Byju’s valuation from $22 billion in early 2022 to just $1 billion.