Tata Group-backed online grocery platform BigBasket has started a fresh round of funding that could value the e-commerce startup at around $3-3.5 billion.
The Bengaluru-based online grocery service provider’s latest funding is likely to come from Tata Digital—a wholly-owned arm of Tata Sons—and its existing shareholders. While the size of the round hasn’t been finalised, it could be as much as $200 million or more, three people familiar with the matter told ET.
Last year, the Tata group picked up 68 per cent stake in online grocer for Rs 9,500 crore.
Recently, BigBasket’s holding company Supermarket Grocery filed documents with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) about plans to raise the authorised share capital, giving clear indications of a fresh cash infusion on the cards.
“After 1mg (which got $41 million in funding), BigBasket is also working on a new cash infusion. It will happen at a pre-money valuation of around $3.2-3.3 billion,” the financial daily quoted one of the people mentioned above as saying.
Earlier this month, online pharmacy 1mg entered the unicorn club after an internal funding round led by Tata Digital.
Separately, the publication reported in March that BigBasket was valued at $2. 7 billion in a secondary transaction where Brand Capital—the strategic investment arm of the Times Group—sold part of its stake in the company. The country’s biggest online grocer’s last primary transaction valuation was $2 billion in May last year, soon after Tata Digital’s majority acquisition of the firm.
Notably, the new round of funding will help BigBasket to expand offerings and move to quick commerce against rivals such as Swiggy’s Instamart, Reliance Retail-backed Dunzo, Zepto and others.
According to one of the people cited above, “The company continues to grow 40 per cent annually as projected earlier internally. This financial year ending March 2023, the company is expected to generate sales of $1.5 billion (net of discounts).
So far, there is no change in BigBasket’s plans for an initial public offering (IPO), within a period of two years.
