Foodpanda India ‘likely to close’

Foodpanda India appears likely to be shut down after parent Rocket Internet failed to find a buyer at a bargain basement price.

It’s the latest chapter for the increasingly troubled Asian operations of Foodpanda which last monthgave up in Vietnam after failing to win market share off rivals and in Hong Kong axed its upmarket spinoff brand Foodora, merging the two businesses into one.

India’s Economic Times reports Foodpanda is “desperately searching for a buyer” for the troubled Indian business, despite setting the price tag at just US$10 – $15 million.

“Both Zomato and Swiggy have been approached for a buyout, besides one larger horizontal company. But Rocket is yet to garner keen interest from possible suitors for Foodpanda,” another source told theTimes of India.

At the end of December, Foodpanda India laid off 300 staff , about 15 per cent of its local workforce, as it faced increasing competition from Zomato. The company said the redundancies were the result of achieving near 98 per cent automaticon of its ordering process.

The Economic Times reports Rocket’s problems in India are not restricted to Foodpanda.

“The Samwer brothers-led Rocket Internet’s interest in its Indian portfolio has been waning with most of its flagship firms, including FabFurnish and PrintVenue, being put on the block,” the newspaper said.

It concluded that if a buyer for the sites cannot be found the company would simply close them.