AirAsia’s logistics arm to acquire Malaysian food delivery startup for $9.8m

Teleport, the logistics arm of Malaysian airline AirAsia, announced that it has signed an agreement to buy out DeliverEat, a Penang-based online food delivery platform, in a deal worth US$9.8 million. Pending final approvals, the transaction is expected to close by the third quarter of this year.

DeliverEat founder Tan Suan Sear (left) and Leong Shir Mein / Photo credit: DeliverEat

After the acquisition, DeliverEat’s founders Leong Shir Mein and Tan Suan Sear will join the management teams of Teleport and AirAsia Digital. Gobi Partners, an investor in the food delivery startup, will also find a place on the logistics unit’s cap table following the deal.

The deal will lift Teleport’s valuation to US$300 million.

Founded in 2012, DeliverEat has onboarded more than 4,000 merchants, including restaurants, wet markets, pharmacies, and grocery stores. Since its inception, the company has delivered more than one million orders around Penang and Klang Valley with a fleet of 4,000 registered delivery partners.

In 2017, the foodtech firm raised US$450,000 in pre-series A funding from Gobi Partners and Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad’s joint investment fund.

Read also: AirAsia’s logistics arm eyes raising up to $100m to cover more ground and air

The DeliverEat acquisition comes after the launch of AirAsia’s own food delivery service in Penang called AirAsia Food. The company is likely to expand the services to Johor Bahru, Ipoh, and Kuching soon.

Teleport’s parent firm AirAsia has been on an acquisition spree of late, taking over Gojek’s Thailand operations just last month.