Foodpanda acquires startup in Saudi Arabia, says Middle East business is profitable

Photo credit: George Lu.

Rocket Internet’s online food delivery startup Foodpanda announced today that it’s acquiring local competitor Hungerstation in Saudi Arabia. The terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Foodpanda operates in the Middle Eastern country under the Hellofood name. It’s been active since 2013. Hungerstation, which was founded in 2012 by Saudi entrepreneur Ebrahim Al-Jassim, will continue to operate as a standalone site.

Foodpanda and Hellofood have raised US$218 million.

Foodpanda says the combined business will cater to an inventory of over 2,000 restaurants spread across 30 cities in the country. It claims its entire Middle Eastern business will now turn profitable as a result of the deal.

“Along with our other businesses in the Middle East, Hungerstation and Hellofood consolidate our market leadership in the region and we are proud to have achieved overall profitability just three years after launch,” says Ralf Wenzel, CEO of Foodpanda.

The German startup juggernaut also runs online food delivery startups 24h in the UAE and Otlob in Egypt.

Foodpanda’s last funding round came in March 2015 when it snapped up US$110 million, bringing the total amount raised to US$218 million.

It also went on an acquisition spree the same year, gobbling up rival sites in seven countries. In March it bought a competitor to consolidate operations in Hong Kong.