In a BSE filing on Friday, Zomato said that its board has approved incorporation of a wholly-owned subsidiary as a Non-Banking Finance Company. It also stated that it is investing in two companies, AdOnMo Pvt Ltd and UrbanPiper Technology Pvt Ltd.
In the BSE filing, the food delivery and restaurant discovery platform said it will acquire 19.48 per cent stake in ad-tech company AdOnMo Pvt Ltd for an aggregate cash consideration of ₹112.20 crore. It will also pick up a 5 per cent stake in B2B software platform UrbanPiper Technology Pvt Ltd for ₹37.38 crore.
“Both UrbanPiper and AdOnMo investments are synergistic to our core business and will help accelerate growth of these companies, which will help in filling impo11ant gaps in the food ordering and delivery ecosystem in India,” it added .
UrbanPiper is a B2B software platform that acts like a middle layer between restaurants and food ordering and delivery players, and enables restaurants to seamlessly integrate with multiple players through a single digital interface, the BSE filing added. The food aggregator said it hopes to fuel UrbanPiper’s penetration in the restaurant industry with its investment.
Meanwhile, AdOnMo is an ad-tech company that is taking targeted digital advertising beyond personal devices to outdoor digital screens. Their proprietary technology enables cloud-connected digital screens with contextual and targeted advertising capabilities. Growth in AdOnMo’s platform will help Zomato’s food ordering and delivery business leverage new digital avenues for customer acquisition, it added.
“Pursuant to the approval of the Board, the company has finalised and executed the relevant agreements for the proposed investments. The proposed investments are each subject to fulfilment of certain customary conditions precedent and other terms and conditions agreed under the investment agreements,” the BSE filing added.
“This is to further inform the exchange that Board in its meeting held today also approved incorporation of wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company as Non-Banking Finance Company,” said the company in the BSE filing.
Zomato further clarified that Bace Fund LP invested in AdOnMo in December 2019 as part of a $3-m round and currently owns about 13 per cent in AdOnMo. “Deepinder Goyal, MD and CEO, of Zomato, has an investment of $100, 000 in Bace Fund LP, which is an insignificant portion of the fund. Our proposed investment in AdOnMo is not a related party transaction and the above disclosure is being made voluntarily,” it added.