Delivery Hero Gobbles Up Rocket Internet Backed Foodpanda

Online food ordering marketplace Foodpanda is being acquired by Berlin-based online food takeaway service Delivery Hero, one of Europe’s biggest startups.

A Reuters report stated that the move was a sign of further consolidation to fend off new competition in Europe’s sought after food-delivery business.

Delivery Hero and Foodpanda are both backed by German ecommerce firm Rocket Internet, which has invested 800 Mn Euros in Delivery Hero last year and put 300 Mn Euros in Foodpanda which focusses on deliveries in Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Asia.

Founded in 2011, Delivery Hero is an online food-ordering service operating in 33 countries. Through its website and app, it provides an overview of all the restaurants and delivery services available. Delivery Hero – valued at 2.8 Bn Euros ($2.96 Bn) in its latest funding round in June 2016 – said that it has signed a definitive agreement to buy Foodpanda, in a statement on Saturday.

The Rocket Internet-backed foodpanda group, launched in 2012 by Ben Bauer and Ralf Wenzel, is headquartered in Berlin. The company operates in 24 countries in Asia, Middle East and Eastern Europe. It currently claims to employ more than 2,000 people worldwide.

Foodpanda India was started by Rohit Chadda, Amit Kohli and Akhilesh Bali in 2012 in India. In a bid to strengthen its position in the online food space, Foodpanda.in acquired the Indian operations of JustEat in 2015. Earlier in November 2014, Foodpanda had also acquired TastyKhana.

In September 2015, reports emerged that Rocket Internet had reportedly planned to sell its top companies including foodpanda, Fabfurnish, and Jabong in 2015. Foodpanda was also in a controversy over corporate governance failures last year.

Earlier this year in August, it was reported that Foodpanda was in the process of raising fresh capital. The company mandated Mumbai-based mid-market investment bank o3 Capital for a $40 Mn-$60 Mn fund – raise as it initiated talks with investors, people close to the development said. According to sources, the fundraise process indicated to the sale of Foodpanda. Foodpanda India lists menus from over 12,000+ restaurants across 200+ cities. Globally, Foodpanda has partnered with over 45,000 restaurants in 40 countries across five continents.

The companies have not disclosed a purchase price. However, it was confirmed that acquisition will be funded by issuing new shares, with major shareholder Rocket increasing its stake to 37.7 %.

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