Foodpanda sells Vietnamese operation to local rival
Rocket Internet’s online food ordering service Foodpanda has said that its Vietnamese business had been acquired by local rival Vietnammm, days after announcing its withdrawal from the Vietnamese market over financial issues.
The acquisition means that Foodpanda’s customers and database of over 1,000 Vietnamese restaurant partners will be transferred to Vietnammm, according to news website Tech in Asia.
“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 the newswire.
“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,” co-founder and CEO of Foodpanda Ralf Wenzel was cited by Tech in Asia.
The consolidation will allow Foodpanda to focus on more attractive core markets while helping Vietnammm become the strongest player in the Vietnamese market, according to Wenzel.
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| An ad of the online food ordering service Foodpanda |
“Vietnammm.com is thrilled to announce the deal with Foodpanda to solidify its market leader position in Vietnam. We welcome all new customers and restaurants and will do everything we can to ensure a smooth transition to Vietnammm.com,” the newswire quoted Jochem Lisser, CEO of Vietnammm, as saying.
Vietnam’s online food delivery space now becomes a battle between domestic brands, Vietnammm and Eat.vn, following the acquisition,Tech in Asia said.
Vietnammm is a subsidiary of Takeaway, one of the world’s largest online food delivery websites, and Eat.vn is backed by VC Corp, one of the most prominent Vietnamese online media companies.
The announcement of acquisition is considered a surprising twist in the online food ordering industry of Vietnam as Foodpanda sent a notice on December 2 to its restaurant partners in Vietnam saying that it would shut down all business activities in the country due to financial issues, which would take effect within five days.
Foodpanda is a global mobile food delivery marketplace headquartered in Berlin, Germany with operations in 40 countries including India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore and others.
The company has established business partnership with over 38,000 restaurants in 500 cities worldwide.
The business launched its operation in Vietnam in 2012 and has set up connections with more than 1,000 restaurants, including many well-known brands, to the food lovers in the country, such as KFC, Burger King, and Baskin Robins.