Zomato Acquires 19.48% Stake In Ad-Tech Company AdOnMo

Food delivery app Zomato has acquired a 19.48% stake in ad tech company AdOnMo for an aggregate cash consideration of Rs 112.2 crore. Apart from AdOnMo, the company has also acquired a 5% stake in Urban Piper Technology for an aggregate cash consideration of Rs 37.38 crore.

Both the acquisitions are expected to conclude within seven days.

In a regulatory filing, Zomato said it has finalised and executed the relevant agreements for the proposed investments which are subject to fulfilment of certain customary conditions precedent and other terms and conditions agreed under the investment agreements.

Bace Fund LP invested in AdOnMo in December 2019 as part of a $3 million round and currently owns 13%. Further, Zomato MD & CEO Deepinder Goyal has an investment of $100,000 in Bace Fund LP, which is an insignificant portion of the fund.

"Our proposed investment in AdOnMo is not a related party transaction and the above disclosure is being made voluntarily," Zomato clarified. AdOnMo's turnover stood at Rs 3.27 crore in FY21, Rs 2.54 crore in FY20, and Rs 1.55 crore in FY19.

AdOnMo is an ad-tech company that is taking targeted digital advertising beyond personal devices to outdoor digital screens. Their proprietary technology enables cloud-connected digital screens with contextual and targeted adve1tising capabilities. Outside online marketing (web / mobile app), this is the only medium where ads can be served (a) digitally and in real time, (b) customized and targeted for hyperlocal audiences.

Zomato said growth in AdOnMo's platform will help its food ordering and delivery business leverage new digital avenues for customer acquisition.

The company has signed definitive documents for investing $5 million (Rs 37.38 crore) in Urban Piper Technology for a 5% stake as part of a larger $24 million round. Urban Piper is a B2B software platform that acts like a "middle layer" between restaurants and food ordering and delivery players and enables restaurants to seamlessly integrate with multiple players through a single digital interface.

The company noted that 80% of restaurants still use legacy systems or manual processes leading to delay in order flow and errors in order processing. Urban Piper solves this problem for restaurants through technology helping more restaurants become "food-delivery ready". It currently processes 12 million orders a month at 23,000+ restaurant locations in the country. With our investment, we hope to fuel Urban Piper's penetration in the restaurant industry.

"Both Urban Piper and AdOnMo investments are synergistic to our core business and will help accelerate growth of these companies which will help in filling important gaps in the food ordering and delivery ecosystem in India," Zomato noted.