Germany-based e-commerce holding company Rocket Internet, together with portfolio company Foodpanda, sold several of its international online takeaway assets to online food ordering service JustEat for €125m ($140m) in cash today.
Rocket Internet divested Spain-based La Nevera Roja, together with the Italy-based PizzaBo and HelloFood Italy, while Foodpanda sold its HelloFood Brazil and HelloFood Mexico subsidiaries. All five were part of the Rocket Internet-run Global Online Takeaway Group.
The deals were made as part of a wider strategy to reduce Rocket Internet’s holdings in areas where it is not market leader, though it continues to hold stakes in Germany-based online food delivery platform Delivery Hero and Turkey-based counterpart Yemeksepeti.
Oliver Samwer, Rocket Internet’s CEO, said: “The online takeaway market remains a core focus of Rocket Internet’s business strategy with the significant ownership in the market leaders Delivery Hero and Foodpanda. Today’s transactions are clearly aimed at reducing the complexity of Rocket Internet’s network of companies.”
Ralf Wenzel, co-founder and CEO of Foodpanda, added: “The divestment in Latin America allows us to focus on our key markets across Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe where Foodpanda has a market leading position and to which we can now dedicate more resources and capital to grow our business and improve the efficiency of our operations.”
Rocket Internet became a majority shareholder in Germany-based Foodpanda, which was previously known as HelloFood, in March 2015. Foodpanda has raised approximately $318m in overall equity funding.