Uber & Ola To Go Head to Head Once Again As Ola Acquires Foodpanda

Uber and Ola are poised to battle head to head again, but this time, it’s not over which ride service you’d prefer. Ola is entering the food tech market in India and soon Uber (or rather, UberEATS) will be coming up against them in the food delivery sector as well.

A big panda hug to the newest member of our family! #SayOlaToFoodpanda pic.twitter.com/xtVrYxqbqh

— Ola (@Olacabs) 19 December 2017

In a move that will certainly galvanise the food tech industry, Ola has partnered up with Germany-based, Delivery Hero Group. The move also includes the transfer of Foodpanda’s India business in exchange for an undisclosed amount of Ola shares.

Panda is delighted to be a part of the @Olacabs family! #SayOlaToFoodpanda https://t.co/pPl9zITAVx

— foodpanda India (@foodpandaIndia) 19 December 2017

Ola has also committed to invest $200 million into Foodpanda India, which Ola says is India’s largest fund investment in the food delivery business in India. They also announced that Saurabh Kochhar, who was the CEO of Foodpanda, has decided to move on and pursue other business interests, Ola’s founding partner Pranay Jivrajka will serve as the interim CEO until a replacement is found.

Ola’s Co-founder Speaks

When commenting on the partnership, Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder, and CEO at Ola, said, “I’m excited about our partnership with Delivery Hero as we team up to take Foodpanda India to the next level. As one of India’s pioneers in the food delivery space, Foodpanda has come to be a very efficient and profit-focused business over the last couple of years. Our commitment to invest $200mn in Foodpanda India will help the business be focused on growth by creating value for customers and partners. With Delivery Hero’s global leadership and Ola’s platform capabilities with unique local insights, this partnership is born out of strength. I look forward to welcoming the Foodpanda India team to the Ola family.”

Very excited to announce our partnership with @deliveryherocom as we welcome the team of @foodpandaIndia onboard @Olacabs. We aim to create India’s best online food service experience with Foodpanda‘s wonderful team! https://t.co/fithklcCkW (1/2)

— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) 19 December 2017

He added, “I also thank Saurabh Kochhar for building a wonderful team at Foodpanda India over the last couple of years and wish him the very best in his new endeavours.”