Yesterday, news emerged that foodtech decacorn Swiggy has hired two investment banks for what is reportedly a $1 billion listing. Considering its rival Zomato's shares are now trading closer to their issue price, after reaching twice that level in September, it may not be a particularly great time for Swiggy to go public. And Zomato's woes are only partly to do with the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the stock market. In its attempt to follow Zomato to the bourses, Swiggy is emulating Zomato on another front. It is close to acquiring Dineout, a restaurant reservation app owned by Times Internet, for $150-$200 million. With this, Swiggy will be taking the fight to Zomato in its oldest business. And lest you think restaurant discovery and reservation is all that Dineout brings to the table, 30-40% of its revenue comes from selling restaurant management software and a customer management tool. This would give Swiggy access to a treasure trove of data, which it can use to bolster its delivery business. But when it comes to the dining-out business, Zomato still has an ace up its sleeve thanks to its investment in Magicpin, a discovery platform for retail stores and eateries. In our well-reported article, we had paints a picture of the potential Swiggy-Dineout combine and its attempts to out manoeuvre its competition..
