Tata plans $1.3-billion war chest for BigBasket, 1mg to take on rivals: Report

The group has tasked global investment banks Citi and Moelis for the fundraise, the report said.

The Tata group is looking to raise up to $1.3 billion from external investors for its digital units BigBasket and 1mg as it looks to strengthen the businesses to compete with rivals, The Economic Times reported on April 7.

The conglomerate is likely to reserve a large chunk of the money raised, up to a billion dollar, for its grocery delivery unit, while the rest will be infused into its online pharma company, the report said.

The salt-to-software group believes Tata Sons has invested enough capital into Tata Digital’s various units and “its time to show results”, the report cited a source as saying.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

The group has tasked global investment banks Citi and Moelis for the fundraise, the report said.

The holding firm has made its displeasure known to the grocery delivery arm for lagging behind its competitors such as Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, the report said.

The group has a 65 percent ownership of BigBasket. Mirae Asset VC and the UK’s CDC Group are the other major investors in the company, which is estimated to be valued at $3.2 billion, ET said.

BigBasket is planning to go public in the next 18 to 24 months, CEO Hari Menon had said in February, as the Tata Group-backed grocery giant seeks to tap surging demand for quick online deliveries of everything from fruits to Apple iPhones.

The company is on track to double its business year-on-year by March 2026 and expand to about 70 Indian cities from the present 35 over the next year, Menon told Reuters on the sidelines of a retail summit in Mumbai. He stopped short of detailing any investment plans.

With agency inputs