Zomato in race to acquire UberEats, deal almost finalised: Report

Online food delivery app Zomato reportedly may acquire UberEats for an asking price of $500 million. Currently, negotiations involve a stock deal for UberEats but the final deal size may change. Zomato might as well raise a fresh round of investment from Uber, amid Ant Financial's ongoing $500-$600 million round. The deal might close with Zomato being the highest bidder. We have reached out to Zomato for comment and shall update this story accordingly.

Zomato-UberEats deal almost final?

Earlier, there was a report that Zomato and Swiggy may be in merger talks amid looming threats from Amazon and UbeEats. But Zomato clarified that the company is not in negotiations with Swiggy. In a statement, Zomato spokesperson had said:

"We have tremendous focus on our business metrics and have seen great success in our goal towards profitability. We are not in talks with Swiggy for a merger or acquisition."

READ | Zomato breaks the suspense over 'merger talks' with rival Swiggy

However, Zomato-UberEats acquisition deal could be possible ahead of Amazon's entry in India's food-delivery market. Amazon is gearing up to launch its own online food delivery division to compete with Swiggy, Zomato and UberEats in the Indian market. It seems like Amazon has plans to disrupt the food retail business and gain maximum market share in the segment. 

Previously, there were reports that Amazon has a reserved capital of Rs 3,500 crores to expand into online food delivery business in the country

READ | Amazon food delivery app could pose a serious threat to Zomato, Swiggy

Amazon India already has its existing workforce of delivery partners in place and the chances are that Amazon would put its current workforce of delivery partners to use in order to speed up the delivery process and stay ahead of the competition. As of December last year, Swiggy held almost half of the market share in terms of the number of orders, followed by Zomato and FoodPanda.

READ | Swiggy wants to create 7,000 new jobs, expand cloud kitchen operations

In related news, Swiggy is set to launch its cloud kitchens to 12 new cities by March 2020. Currently, Swiggy has established 1,000 cloud kitchens for its restaurant partners. Within two years, Swiggy says it has expanded in more than a million square feet of real estate space across 14 cities to set up cloud kitchens.