Germany’s ‘Rocket Internet’ subsidiary “Food Panda Global” has acquired its main competitor and Pakistan’s largest online food portal, EatOye, in a series of acquisitions to become the market leader in the region, the company announced yearlier yesterday.
“With the recent acquisitions, Foodpanda becomes the market leader across Southeast Asia,” said Co-Founder and Global Managing Director of Foodpanda Ralf Wenzel in a statement.
After acquiring what was their only competitor thus far, Foodpanda has become the market leader in Pakistan, holding a massive 90% share in the country’s online food-ordering market, which industry sources value at Rs15 billion or $150 million a year.
With this acquisition, Foodpanda completes its first buyout in Pakistan’s emerging market, the statement said, and that the company would also add more than 3,000 restaurants for both platforms.
EatOye, which was backed by Arpatech (an IT company), was acknowledged as one of the fastest growing companies in the Asia-Pacific region in 2014, bagging APAC ICT Alliance Awards in the hospitality industry last year.
The Karachi-based food portal recorded a whopping 682% growth in its orders and a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of over Rs150 million in 2014, according to sources. GMV is one of the key measures of an e-commerce site’s performance.
At present, EatOye has in excess of 1,000 restaurants across 15 different cities in Pakistan and offers table reservations as well as online food ordering. It attracted a quarter of a million visitors each month and completed over 30,000 transactions (delivery orders or reservations) in 2014.
Both Foodpanda and EatOye refused to disclose any financial details, market analysts, however, put the transaction value at a maximum $3 million depending on negotiations and the company’s 2014 revenues.
If the company charges 20% commission, their 2014 revenues would be approximately Rs30 million, an official said requesting anonymity.
Though a small transaction in terms of value, it is a positive sign for the country’s startup market, say experts. This transaction reflects foreign investors’ increasing confidence in the country, market sources say.
Besides EatOye, Foodpanda has also acquired JUST EAT and TastyKhana in India; Room Service in Malaysia and Singapore, City Delivery in the Philippines, Koziness in Hong Kong and Food By Phone in Thailand.
