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Netherlands-based firm Prosus sees IPO upside in India as portfolio matures
Dutch investment firm Prosus is managing $6.5 billion in assets across more than 30 Indian companies and has returned around $4 billion to shareholders, said Ashutosh Sharma, head of India investments, at the company's Capital Markets Day in London.
Sharma described the firm's India portfolio as 'loosely coupled,' allowing its companies to leverage shared insights and infrastructure while maintaining operational independence.
These are spanning across food delivery, e-commerce, payments, and experiences.
Several of these companies, he noted, are nearing public-market readiness — a development expected to boost returns in the near term.
Urban Company, which filed draft initial public offer (IPO) papers in April, is among the portfolio's more mature firms and is expected to go public later this year. Jewellery retailer BlueStone has also secured regulatory approval and is preparing for an imminent listing.
Prosus has invested more than $8.6 billion in India, positioning the country as a key strategic market. The firm's portfolio includes Swiggy, Meesho, Byju's, Captain Fresh, and Urban Company, with Swiggy having a standout IPO last year. Prosus has also recently invested in Rapido, a fast-growing ride-hailing platform that now facilitates over 3 million rides daily and is expanding at more than 100 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).
Liquidity events from companies like MakeMyTrip, Swiggy, and Flipkart have generated significant returns. From Swiggy's IPO in November 2024, Prosus realised about $500 million from a cumulative $1.3 billion investment. The firm retains a 25 per cent stake in the company, which is currently valued at around $2.7 billion.
Quick commerce
At the event, Swiggy CEO Harsha Majety emphasised that its quick commerce business has surpassed food delivery in size and continues to redefine Indian online retail.
The category, which started as a convenience solution, now includes 30,000–40,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) and is driving daily user behaviour across product categories like home goods and personal care.
Swiggy's food delivery arm has reached profitability and aims to serve 100 million users 15 times a month. Majety pointed out that India is still early in its restaurant evolution.
Also, mobility platform Rapido recently began piloting a food delivery service in Bengaluru. When asked about Rapido's foray into this segment, Majesty said 'It is not easy to just get an opening that you can go take a home run with. I think it will be interesting to see if there's an alternative take to food delivery that can grow the category, because we are waiting for some more growth as well.'
He added, 'We are definitely super agile and paranoid. If we see a new opening, we are going to be all over it.'
He said that there were a dozen players in food delivery in 2015. A year later Uber and Ola threw their hat into the ring.
'Then, in 2019, Amazon threw its hat into the ring. In 2021, there was the entry of ONDC,' said Majety. 'I think we do a pretty good job of serving the consumer.'
Analysts expect limited disruption to India's entrenched food delivery giants. According to a recent report by Bernstein, the market remains a tight duopoly, with Zomato holding nearly 54 per cent share and rival Swiggy is at 46 per cent. While Swiggy has shown stronger Y-o-Y growth in gross order value (GOV), the US-based asset manager does not foresee Rapido's entry shifting the balance in the near term.
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