SoftBank and Swiggy seek CCI approval for investment

SoftBank and food delivery platform Swiggy have sought an approval from Competition Commission of India for a proposed investment, the final step that will help seal one of SoftBank's biggest bets in India.

According to the application filed by SVF II (an entity owned by SoftBank) and Bundl (which owns Swiggy), the proposed investment will not lead to any change in the competitive landscape or cause any appreciable adverseeffect on competition in India.

However, "the Parties have provided a competitive assessment of 2(two) indirectly overlapping vertical relationships between the Parties in the (i) digital payments services segment, and (iii) online advertising services segment", according to the notice. SoftBank is also an investor in Paytm and InMobi.

The investment from SoftBank will come on top of $800 million series J round that Swiggy recently closed, with Falcon Edge, Amansa, Think Investments, Carmignac and Goldman Sachs at a valuation of $5 Billion. Swiggy's over $1.2 Billion fund raise will give it significant firepower at a time when rival Zomato is looking to hit the public markets.

SoftBank's interest in the Indian food tech space is not new. For years, there has been speculation on whether it will go with Zomato or Swiggy. Zomato seemed to have an edge a few years ago after it acquired UberEats, which gave SoftBank's portfolio company Uber, a stake in the merged entity.