It may signal the closure of the Indian operations.
Rocket Internet-backed Foodpanda is desperately searching for a buyer for its troubled India operations at a lowly price tag of USD 10-15 million. “Foodpanda has held talks with its competitors in India, who have been pitched with a sale value of USD 10-15 million,” said a source close to the development.
Despite the low valuation, the food ordering platform has not found a buyer yet, signalling that it may decide to shut India operations soon.
“Both Zomato and Swiggy have been approached for a buyout, besides one larger horizontal company. But Rocket is yet to garner keen interest from possible suitors for Foodpanda,” another source said.
Last year, Foodpanda raised more than USD 300 million from the Berlin-based Samwer brothers and Goldman Sachs for its global business. That’s when it invested heavily in the Indian market, becoming one of the largest players in the online food ordering segment. In order to ward off rivals Zomato and the likes of Swiggy and TinyOwl, Foodpanda acquired TastyKhana and Just Eat in India. But it has since been on a downhill slide.
Reports of an alleged fraud and systematic discrepancies in Foodpanda’s operations emerged last year. The company then laid off 300 people as the overall food delivery market hit a rough patch.
