Swiggy’s double move to hive off its quick commerce vertical Instamart into a step-down subsidiary and exit mobility startup Rapido underscores a strategic shift in its playbook.

The food delivery giant filed the updates in an exchange filing late Tuesday (September 23) evening.

Whispers over Swiggy’s likely exit from Rapido turned louder since the mobility company entered the food delivery space with the launch of Ownly. What was once a portfolio bet had suddenly turned into a competitive conflict for the food aggregator.

The Swiggy board approved the sale of its stake to existing Rapido investors Prosus (also an investor in Swiggy) and Westbridge for INR 2,400 Cr. According to media reports, the company reaped a 2.3-fold return on this bet.

Swiggy will spin off Instamart into a separate indirect step-down subsidiary, Swiggy Instamart Private Limited, through a slump sale, said the filing.

On the surface, the Rapido stake sale seemed an obvious move by the company to disentangle from the competition, carving out Instamart signals something deeper. While Swiggy officially positioned the move as a step towards “sharper strategic focus and operational flexibility”, the timing and the structure suggest that the company is preparing for........

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