The board of Zomato will meet on October 22 to consider a proposal to raise funds from institutional investors, its first since its initial public offer in July 2021.

Though the size of the offer is not known, there is a buzz about the online food delivery firm raising anywhere between ₹8,000 crore and ₹9,000 crore.

The stock markets reacted negatively to the announcement with the shares of Zomato ending with losses of 4.90 per cent at ₹257.40 on a day the BSE Sensex gained 218 points.

The proposed fund raising comes even as Zomato has cash reserves of ₹12,539 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.

However, this was before its acquisition of Paytm’s entertainment ticketing business for over ₹2,000 crore.

Speculations are that Zomato could use the QIP proceeds to invest in quick commerce and expand in more cities in the country.

In a regulatory filing, the company informed that a meeting of the board of directors is scheduled to be held on October 22, 2024.

Zomato added that at the meeting, its board will approve the second quarter results.

The company reported a net profit of ₹253 crore in the second quarter against ₹2 crore a year ago.

Revenues in the quarter jumped 74 per cent to ₹4,206 crore against ₹1,416 crore a year ago.