Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund divested Zomato shares worth ₹645.84 crore, resulting in a 4.71% decline in the stock price, despite a 15.8% gain recorded over the past month.
On Tuesday, Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund sold its stake in the online food delivery aggregator Zomato for Rs 646 crore through an open market transaction. According to block deal data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund (MF) divested over 2.84 crore shares, equivalent to 0.3% of its stake in the Gurugram-based Zomato. The shares were sold at an average price of Rs 226.85 each, totaling the transaction value to Rs 645.84 crore.
Who bought the shares?
In contrast, Societe Generale acquired a 0.14% stake, while Polar Capital Funds Plc-Global Technology purchased a 0.07% stake at Rs 226.85 per share.
This development followed Zomato’s market capitalization exceeding Rs 2 lakh crore. The company’s shares reached an all-time peak of Rs 232 each on Monday following its announcement of a 20% increase in platform fees from Rs 5 to Rs 6 in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.
Deepinder Goyal’s entry into the billionaire club
Subsequently, Goyal, holding approximately 4.24% stake, emerged as India’s latest billionaire, with a net worth of approximately $1.01 billion (around Rs 8,423 crore).
Goyal, who recently wed Mexican model Grecia Munoz, possesses roughly 36.95 crore shares in Zomato.
Axis Mutual Fund, BNP Paribas Arbitrage, Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius, Goldman Sachs, Matthews Asia, Morgan Stanley, Hong Kong-based Optimas Capital Management, and investment management firm Polar Capital were among the purchasers of Zomato’s shares.
Recently, Zomato raised its platform fee from Rs 5 to Rs 6, marking a 20% increase. Currently implemented in Delhi and Bengaluru, this hike is expected to extend to other cities. Similarly, food delivery platform Swiggy has also raised its platform fee to Rs 6. Over the past year, Zomato has increased its platform fee five times.
Both delivery platforms began charging platform fees last year, aiming to enhance company economics and revenue generation. Following the fee hike, Zomato’s stock rose as investors welcomed the decision.
Discussing the platform fee, Karan Taurani, Senior Vice President-Research Analyst at Elara Capital, told Moneycontrol, “We do not anticipate significant increases in restaurant commissions in the near term, as these have largely stabilized in our view. Key drivers for achieving EBITDA as a percentage of GOV towards management’s medium-term target of 4-5% will be ad revenue and the platform fee.”
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