Zomato in talks with Singapore’s Temasek for funding

Zomato is in talking terms with Singapore's Temasek to ask to pump in as much as $100 million into the online food delivery major, according to people aware of the developments, at a time when a previously announced investment by Ant Financial has been delayed due to the current anti-China sentiment and new foreign direct investment (FDI) rules.

An existing Zomato backer, Temasek's potential funding is part of a larger investment round the Gurgaon-based company has been negotiating since the end of last year.

As per the sources, aware of the developments, the discussions between the parties are still ongoing.

"The round was almost finalised, but the terms of the deal are being renegotiated given the impact of Covid-19 on business operations, India's investment policies and competitive landscape with Amazon's launch (of its food delivery business)," said one of the persons cited above. "Covid-19 has hurt both the profitable listing and discovery businesses as well as the food delivery arm (of Zomato)," he said.

The company's fund-raising process has been filled with challenges, including changes to the FDI policy announced in April.