Nearly a week after announcing that they want to become the world's largest Internet company outside of the United States, Berlin-based Rocket Internet makes a big move in the Middle Eastern food-service market, plunking down $170 million for Kuwait-based Talabat.
Talabat, a food delivery service platform, claims to have 1,300 restaurants on its platform and services the Gulf, specifically Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar. Some of the restaurants they feature include international brands like Pizza Hut, Wendy's and Smashburger, as well as regional ones like Casper and Gambinis.
Rocket Internet also indirectly acquired another Middle Eastern company this week, as Foodpanda, a company that Rocket Internet has a 50 percent stake in, bought UAE-based 24h for an undisclosed sum.
These new food acquisitions will be placed into a new unit of Rocket's called Global Online Takeaway Group.
“We are extremely excited about the opportunity in the global food and groceries sector with its tremendous market potential,” Rocket chief executive Oliver Samwer said in a statement.
As for why the company is interested in the Middle East specifically, Samwer said in a statement that, "The Middle East is one of the most attractive markets with significant growth potential and highly attractive EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margins."
This is not the first time that a food-company in the region has made startup headlines, as Lebanon's Shahiya was acquired by Japanese recipe portal Cookpad last year. The deal was lauded as a landmark in the region as it was one of the first exits of a Middle Eastern startup.
Clearly, it wasn't the last.