Tata Digital buying Dunzo? Hyperlocal delivery startup says 'no'

has doubled its business in the last 75 days and continues to grow 50 percent month on month (MoM). [Image: Shutterstock]

We are not up for sale, Hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo said in a statement after media reports claim Tata Digital is in talks with the startup for a buyout.

“While we are currently in advanced discussions with multiple investors on raising additional capital to the tune of $150-200 million, a buyout or sale of controlling interest is definitely NOT up for discussion,” Dunzo said.

Livemint reported, citing three people aware of the matter, that the potential deal may value the startup at Rs 1,093-1,457 crore ($150-200 million).

On June 7, Tata Digital said it would invest $75 million in CureFit Healthcare.

"The CureFit partnership with its industry leading platform in fitness and wellness aligns very well with our overall healthcare proposition where fitness is increasingly becoming an integral part of a consumers’ life," Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said.

The Tata Group has huge ambitions for the e-commerce space, which is currently dominated by Amazon, Walmart-owned Flipkart, with Reliance Industries also expanding aggressively through JioMart.

Dunzo is already backed by Google, Lightbox and Blume Ventures, among others. It earlier raised around Rs 290 crore ($40 million) in Series E funding earlier in 2021.

Bloomberg earlier reported that the 6-year-old startup was planning to double the amount of capital it had raised to extend its reach across Indian. It also plans to become a $1 billion revenue business in the next two years, it reported.

Dunzo has so far raised about $140 million so far and aims to tap investors for roughly another $150 million in 2021, the report added.