Quick commerce business Zepto is holding talks to undertake a secondary share sale of up to $250 million as it aims to increase its number of Indian investors on the road to launching its initial public offering.

Businesses which are holding talks with Zepto over the possibility of acquiring shares include the private equity arms of Edelweiss Financial Services Limited and Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited, anonymous sources told Bloomberg. Zepto would not raise any additional capital as part of the potential share sale and would enable employees and a number of existing investors to sell shares in the business for cash, ET Bureau reported.

The Bengaluru based business has previously announced plans to go public later in the year. The secondary share sale is expected to be carried out with a valuation of the business of $5 billion, a similar level to its valuation for its funding round held in late 2024, according to Bloomberg’s sources.

Zepto is keen to increase its portion of Indian investors in its business in the lead up to its IPO as they currently account for only approximately 33% of its total investors. Indian IPOs reached a record of $18.4 billion in deal volume in 2021, according to Dealogic, and the country has become one of the world’s largest global equity capital markets issuance hubs, Ion Group reported.

Entrepreneurs Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra launched Zepto in 2021. The business counts more than 250 dark stores in 10 metropolitan centres in India and retails a multi-brand range of products.

Author Credits: Isabelle Crossley, Fashion Network