Dunzo close to securing $25-$30 million in capital to steady ship

Kabeer Biswas, CEO and co-founder of Dunzo

Things are finally looking up for Dunzo, the quick-commerce company which has been cash strapped for a while, as it is in advanced stages to close a $25-30 million round, people aware of the company's plans told Moneycontrol.

While the valuation is still undecided, key investors like Reliance Retail, Google, Lightrock are participating in the round, which is being done on a pro-rata basis, essentially meaning that investors will put in money as per the existing stake in the company.

While the shareholding pattern for other investors will remain unchanged, Reliance Retail will invest on a super pro-rata basis which means it will increase its ownership in Dunzo, the people cited above said. With a 25.8 percent stake, Reliance Retail is already the single largest shareholder in Dunzo.

With about 19 percent ownership in Dunzo, Google India is the second-largest investor in Dunzo. Lightbox, Lightrock, Blume Ventures are other prominent backers of the quick-commerce company.

"Immediately, the funds will be used to pay salaries to employees and help Dunzo meet its other working capital requirements," one of the persons cited above told Moneycontrol. 

A message sent to Dunzo CEO Kabeer Biswas did not elicit a response. The story will be updated if he replies. Reliance Retail did not immediately reply to Moneycontrol's email, the story will be updated if they respond.

If the round goes through, it will be a much needed breather for Dunzo which has been slapped with legal notices. The cash crunch is so bad that the company hasn't paid even salaries to employees on time.

"There’s positive momentum (but the round) needs to translate to closure," another person closely associated with Dunzo said.

The comment comes at a time when Dunzo has attempted to raise money several times in the past months but has failed to close a round. The company is even preparing to give up its office space to save costs, as reported earlier. 

Disclaimer: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.