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Zomato denies merger talks with rival Swiggy
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SME Times News Bureau | 19 Nov, 2019
As merger reports of Bengaluru-based Swiggy and Gurugram-based Zomato --
two biggest players in the burgeoning online food delivery market --
resurfaced, Deepinder Goyal-led Zomato on Tuesday refuted reports,
saying they are not in talks with anyone.
"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," a company spokesperson said in a statement shared with
IANS.
A First Post report, citing sources, mentioned that the
merger talks between the two food delivery platforms have revived as the
competition is set to grow with Amazon's reported expansion into online
food delivery business in the country and Uber Eats flexing muscles for
an aggressive expansion in the country.
In 2017, media reports had surfaced that the two players were in merger talks.
The
Zomato spokesperson further said that the latest "speculation is
absolutely untrue". Swiggy, however, refused to comment on the report.
Amazon is gearing up to launch its own online food delivery division to compete with food delivery apps in the Indian market.
The
retail behemoth already has a robust existing workforce in the country
that can be utilized along with hiring more delivery partners to beat
the competition.
According to Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry
Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR, the food delivery business is no longer a
two-horse race and is increasingly witnessing cut-throat competition.
"With
the entry of new players, including the likes of Amazon and Uber Eats, a
potential merger of Zomato and Swiggy would make sense," Ram told IANS.
Zomato
is currently delivering 1.3 million orders a day from 150,000
restaurants across India at more than 10 orders per restaurant per day.
The
company's revenue for the first half of the financial year 2019-20 saw a
massive three-fold jump -- from $63 million in the same period in
2018-2019 to $205 million. Zomato is currently present in 556 cities.
Swiggy
has expanded its services to 500 cities in India, matching rival
Zomato's reach in the country. Swiggy, which has added 60,000 new
restaurants in the past six months, said in October it would expand to
600 cities by December 2019.
Since April 2019, Swiggy has
increased the number of restaurant partners by almost 1.8 times to 1.4
lakh restaurants currently. In tier-3 and tier-4 cities specifically,
Swiggy has onboarded over 15,000 restaurants in the last six months.
The
market is piping hot as according to a recent study by business
consultancy firm Market Research Future, the online food ordering market
in India is likely to grow at over 16 per cent annually to touch $17.02
billion by 2023.
Uber Eats last week told IANS that it is not
only going to stay put in the growing food tech industry in India but is
also building strong linkages with restaurant partners for a seamless
delivery experience for its customers.
In the next three years, the food tech industry in India is going to grow from $4 billion to $15 billion.
"This
industry is perfect for Uber Eats. Right now, we are more focused on
delivery with the restaurant partners. We are learning in the India
market and making our mark in that space before we can add anything more
to it," Kotecha told IANS.
The Zomato-Swiggy merger, if happens, will immediately come under the scrutiny of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
"Combining
the market reach and strength of the two players would enable them to
take on intensified competition better. That said, it remains to be seen
if such a potential merger would come under the regulatory scanner,"
added Ram.
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