Zomato Buys Uber's Food Delivery Business in India in an All-Stock Deal

Uber Eats, which also pulled out of South Korea earlier this year, said it will continue to operate in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

By Reuters | Updated: 21 January 2020 10:32 IST

Zomato Buys Uber's Food Delivery Business in India in an All-Stock Deal

Zomato with Uber Eats deal will further strengthen its dominance in food delivery market

Highlights

Uber will have 9.99 percent stake in Zomato
Uber Eats in India will discontinue operations
Deal is said to be in the range of nearly $350 million

Uber has sold its online food-ordering business in India to local rival Zomato in exchange for a 9.99 percent stake in the startup backed by China's Ant Financial, limiting its exposure to a crowded market where it has struggled to grow. The all-stock deal is likely to push Zomato to the top position in India's food delivery market, ahead of Swiggy, which counts China's Tencent Holdings as an investor. Zomato - valued at around $3 billion (roughly Rs. 21,300 crores) after raising money from Alibaba affiliate Ant this month - said Uber Eats in India will discontinue operations, and direct restaurants, delivery partners and users to the Zomato platform from Tuesday.

"India remains an exceptionally important market to Uber and we will continue to invest in growing our local Rides business," said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's chief executive officer.

We entered food delivery in India in 2017 and today is when our journey takes a different route. Zomato has acquired Uber Eats in India and we'll no longer be available here with immediate effect. We wish all our users more good times with great food on the road ahead pic.twitter.com/WEbJNaJY8M
— Uber Eats India (@UberEats_IND) January 21, 2020

Uber Eats in India accounted for 3 percent of the business' gross bookings globally, but more than a quarter of its adjusted EBITDA loss in the first three quarters of 2019, the U.S. ride-hailing firm said.

Uber Eats India is now Zomato. Here's to better food for more people, and new beginnings.

For more details: https://t.co/cq8Wp9ikOk pic.twitter.com/nK4ICY2ikW
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) January 21, 2020

Uber Eats, which also pulled out of South Korea earlier this year, said it will continue to operate in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

While this is the first large acquisition in the Indian online food delivery market, deal activity has been heating up globally.

Earlier this month Dutch firm Takeaway.com pipped investment company Prosus to buy Britain's Just Eat for 6.2 billion pounds ($8.1 billion). In December, Germany's Delivery Hero agreed to buy South Korea's top food delivery app owner Woowa Brothers for $4 billion.

© Thomson Reuters 2020

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