Ola Cabs merges with Foodpanda in India
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Uber rival Ola Cabs has merged with food-delivery platform Foodpanda India, taking control from Delivery Hero Group of Germany.
Under the terms of the deal, as well as a handover of shares, Ola has committed to investing US$200 million into Foodpanda’s India business.
With Foodpanda India CEO Saurabh Kochhar having moved on, Ola founding partner Pranay Jivrajka will be interim CEO.
Rocket Internet-backed Delivery Hero last year pulled out of Indonesia after tough competition, while Foodpanda wound up its Vietnam business in 2015 and scaled back in India.
“The partnership with Ola will allow us to further consolidate markets where it strategically makes sense to collaborate with local players,” says Delivery Hero CEO/co-founder Niklas Östberg.
The acquisition comes shortly after Ola raised $1.1 billion in funding from Japanese telco SoftBank Group and Chinese internet giant Tencent.
Uber Eats launched in India a few months ago.
Questions & Answers
Q.Who will now run Foodpanda India after the merger?
Who will now run Foodpanda India after the merger?
Ola founding partner Pranay Jivrajka will serve as the interim CEO for Foodpanda India. The previous CEO, Saurabh Kochhar, has moved on from the role following the completion of the merger.
Q.What is the financial commitment Ola has made to Foodpanda's India operations?
What is the financial commitment Ola has made to Foodpanda's India operations?
Ola has committed to investing US$200 million specifically into Foodpanda's India business. This investment is part of the overall terms of the deal between the two companies.
Q.Why has Delivery Hero Group decided to partner with a local player like Ola in India?
Why has Delivery Hero Group decided to partner with a local player like Ola in India?
Delivery Hero's CEO stated that the partnership with Ola will allow them to consolidate markets where it strategically makes sense to collaborate with local players. They have previously scaled back operations in other Asian markets.
Q.Where did Delivery Hero Group previously scale back or withdraw operations?
Where did Delivery Hero Group previously scale back or withdraw operations?
Delivery Hero Group pulled out of Indonesia last year due to tough competition. Also, Foodpanda, which is owned by Delivery Hero, wound up its Vietnam business in 2015 and had scaled back in India before this merger.
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