US-based fund manager Invesco has marked up its valuation of food delivery firm Swiggy to $7.85 billion, from $5.5 billion previously, according to media reports, a positive sign for the firm which has also seen valuation downgrades by other investors.
As Indian startups begin to hunker down and slash expenses, lay off employees, and diversify revenue streams to shape up their businesses, investors seem to be slowly but surely regaining confidence in the ecosystem.
Recession fears amid a challenging fundraising environment had led investors to reassess the value of their investments, resulting in valuation downgrades of many Indian startups such as Ola, Swiggy, Pharmeasy, BYJU’S, and Pine Labs by investors including Blackrock, Vanguard, Neuberger Berman, Invesco, and Prosus.
However, things seem to be looking up once again. US-based asset management company Baron Capital, which had cut the valuations of its holdings in Swiggy and Pine Labs by 10% and 5%, respectively, at the end of the March quarter, marked up their valuations recently.
It upped the fair value of food tech startup Swiggy by 34%, effectively valuing it at $8.5 billion; and that of Pine Labs by about 10%, valuing the fintech firm at $4.9 billion, at the end of the June quarter.
Invesco holds 24,844 shares in Swiggy and each share was worth $7,666 in January 2022. The share price reduced to $3,306 in January this year, when the fund manager said Swiggy was worth $5.5 billion. As of July 31, Swiggy’s shares are worth $4,703 apiece, according to media reports.
In Jan 2022, Invesco led a $700-million round in Swiggy that valued the firm at $10.7 billion.