Indian Unicorn Zomato Buys Uber Eats in India for $206m

Zomato, India’s food delivery unicorn, has acquired Uber’s food delivery business in India for $206 million, according to the Silicon Valley-headquartered ride-hailing giant’s latest US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Uber said in the filing that the estimated fair value of the consideration received is $206 million, which includes the investment valued at $171 million and the $35 million of reimbursement of goods and services tax receivable from Zomato.

The deal was first announced on January 21, with Uber getting a 9.9-percent stake in Zomato. At that time, the value of the deal was pegged in the region of $350-400 million. The transaction significantly trimmed Zomato’s valuation, which was reported to be worth $3 billion.

The Indian food delivery unicorn raised $150 million in January in a private equity round led by online payment services provider Ant Financial. The Chinese investor also pumped in $200 million in the company’s Series I round in February 2018.

The acquisition also comes at a time when the 11-year-old Indian firm is reportedly raising as much as $600 million to further cement its position as one of the top two food delivery operators in the country.

According to industry estimates, Swiggy is India’s No. 1 food delivery business, and the departure of Uber Eats means Swiggy and Zomato now dominates the country’s food delivery space.

Uber Eats entered India in mid-2017 but with Swiggy and Zomato on its heels, the company failed to attract a substantial share of the country’s food delivery space. Earlier reports said Uber was considering selling the Indian business to Swiggy. The talks, however, did not materialize.

Several technical factors get into play to ensure the food you order reaches you at the earliest. Here’s a walk through of how we managed to accurately predict food preparation time to bring the delay further down.https://t.co/eM8KcGAFyX pic.twitter.com/C2pgPakI5W

— Zomato (@Zomato) February 5, 2020

Founded in 2008 by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah, Tomato provides platform about restaurants globally and offering online ordering, food delivery, table reservations, and premium restaurant subscription services, enabling users to discover, rate, and review restaurants.

Aside from Ant Financial, Zomato’s existing investors include Sequoia Capital India, Temasek Holdings, and Vy Capital, among others.