(Press Release) Rocket Internet SE announced the divestiture of non-core takeaway food operations owned by the Company and foodpanda Group to JustEat for €125m. Rocket Internet has sold its takeaway food businesses in Spain, Italy, Brazil and Mexico.
The transaction is in line with Rocket Internet’s strategy to divest non-core operations that are not market-leading. The sale of La Nevera Roja and PizzaBo further reduces the complexity of Rocket Internet. The LPV including cash remains at the latest disclosed figure of €7.2billion as of 30 November 2015.
foodpanda remains the market leader in growth markets with a presence in 24 countries. The operations in Brazil and Mexico accounted for less than 5% of foodpanda’s revenues in 2015.
The transactions in Italy, Brazil and Mexico will be completed today. It is anticipated that the transaction in Spain will be completed by the end of Q2 2016, as it is still subject to regulatory approval from the Spanish competition authority, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia.
Oliver Samwer, CEO of Rocket Internet commented: “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 said: “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. We are on a very good path to reach our global growth target.”
David Buttress, CEO, JUST EAT said: “The acquisitions from Rocket Internet and foodpanda represent a positive step forward for the global online takeaway industry enabling all parties to focus their resources on building bigger and better long term businesses in their key geographies.“