SoftBank is likely to invest in Grofers! In talks to raise Rs 650 crore

Japan’s SoftBank might provide a funding of Rs 650 crore ($100 million) to Grofers, a quick-delivery service for groceries and electronics from neighbourhood stores.

The Gurgaon-based startup is in talks with investors including SoftBank, according to two people aware of the development.

The company is looking to close the round at a valuation of between $300 million and $400 million, said a venture capital investor.

If the deal fructifies, it will mark an over ten-fold increase in valuation and the third round of funding this year for Grofers, which was valued at $33 million in February in its first major round quickly followed by another round in April, taking its total venture funding to $46.5 million.

Grofers, founded in December 2013, has also held talks with Russian billionaire Yuri Milner's DST Global. But SoftBank, whose president is the India-born former Google executive Nikesh Arora, is now in talks to lead the round, sources said.

The new fundraising comes as Grofers, founded by IIT graduates Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar, gets ready to compete in the so-called hyperlocal delivery space with larger players such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and JustDial besides grocery delivery firms like BigBasket and PepperTap.

Softbank most aggressive when it comes to invest in Indian startups: Over the past year, SoftBank has become the most aggressive investor in Indian startups, backing Snapdeal, Ola, Housing and Oyo with over $1 billion in total funding. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son pledged last year to invest $10 billion in India over a decade.

Grocery accounts for over 70% of India's total retail market of $350 billion, according to a recent report on the Indian Internet market by IIFL. "Our interactions indicate that the top three brick-and-mortar grocers invested $2-3 billion in the past three years. Despite such investments, the share of organised grocery retailing remains low. This provides a significant opportunity for an online grocer," said the report.

Competition in hyperlocal grocery service: India's largest online retailer has started piloting its hyperlocal grocery service, Flipkart Nearby, while Snapdeal recently bought a stake in PepperTap by participating in its $36-million round. Paytm, backed by China's Alibaba Holdings, also has a grocery app while Amazon has been experimenting hyperlocal delivery with kirana stores.

Grofers raised $36 million in April this year from venture capital firm Sequoia Capital India, New York-based investment firm Tiger Global Management and Apoletto Asia, the personal investment vehicle of DST Global's Milner.

(Image: Indiatimes)