Foodpanda Vietnam gobbled up by rival

Days after announcing it was shutting down, Rocket Internet’s Foodpanda Vietnam has been bought by local rival Vietnammm.

Vietnammm, the original online food delivery service in the commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City, has paid an undisclosed amount to acquire Foodpanda’s customer base and 1000 restaurant partners.

“This deal enables Foodpanda’s customers and listed restaurants to keep making and receiving orders online in Vietnam,” the company said in a statement sent to Tech in Asia.

The deal also marks a consolidation in Vietnam’s online food delivery space, which now becomes a battle between homegrown brands Vietnammm and Eat.vn.

Vietnammm, established by young expat entrpereneuers, is now a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest online food delivery websites Takeaway, and Eat.vn is backed by VC Corp, one of the most prominent Vietnamese online media companies.

Ralf Wenzel, co-founder and CEO of Foodpanda group, said: “Foodpanda has always been in the front line of market consolidation in the online food delivery sector by establishing clear number one positions in the vast majority of its countries and by conducting a number of complementary acquisitions in the past. This time we contribute our business in Vietnam which allows us to focus instead on more attractive core markets and helps Vietnammm to become the strongest local player.”

Vietnammm CEO Jochem Lisser added: “We welcome all new customers and restaurants and will do everything we can to ensure a smooth transition to Vietnammm.com.”

Last week, Foodpanda global head for communications Tim Schefenacker confirmed to Tech in Asia that they closed down the business in Vietnam because “we saw a smaller and rather long-term opportunity.”

A December 2 notice of termination Foodpanda sent its partner restaurants stated that the company was suffering from a “financial situation” and “facing many difficulties” in the country. It further said that five days following the announcement – on December 7 – the company would have ceased all business activities, primarily its website Foodpanda.vn.

Foodpanda launched in Vietnam under the HungryPanda banner in 2012, a time when competition in this sector was already heating up around Asia. In Vietnam, the company took a beating from the strong homegrown brands, forcing it to amp up marketing and advertising spend.

Around the globe, Foodpanda and sister site Hellofood are competing head-on with a variety of meal delivery sites and apps. Foodpanda has gobbled up competitors in Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Eastern Europe, India, and Southeast Asia, bringing its restaurant partners to more than 38,000 in 500 cities worldwide at the latest count.