(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc bought 75 million pounds ($104 million) worth of shares in food delivery group Deliveroo to prop up trading after an underwhelming market debut, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The purchase equates to nearly a quarter of the value of shares traded in Deliveroo during its first two days as a public company last week, the report https://bit.ly/39ICMJx said, citing Bloomberg data.
The share purchase by the bank, when taken together with the “overallotment” option, would mean the bank would have recorded a profit from the food delivery group’s declining share price, the report said, adding that most of these profits would be given to Deliveroo as part of an undisclosed agreement.
Deliveroo did not immediately return a Reuters request for comment, while Goldman declined to comment.
The startup’s listing was the biggest in the UK in a decade, but its dismal debut dealt a blow to London’s hopes of attracting fast-growing technology companies. Shares in Deliveroo fell by as much as 30% in their debut.
(1 pound = $1.38)
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
