Naspers-backed online food ordering and delivery marketplace Delivery Hero has acquired Carriage, a Kuwait-based hybrid business model offering both, delivery marketplaces and own delivery services in the Middle East for an undisclosed amount as it nears its IPO journey.
It’s interesting to note that Naspers just invested $80m in Swiggy, an India-based food ordering. Earlier this month Naspers invested EUR 387m into Delivery Hero. This means Naspers is head to head to run the global food ordering and delivery services when it helps take Delivery Hero public. Today’s acquisition of Carriage puts Delivery Hero at the forefront of a wider shift in the food business allowing restaurants that don’t have delivery services or want to discontinue them to cut costs and focus on their core productivity.
In a statement, Niklas Östberg, CEO of Delivery Hero, said: “Carriage is an innovative player in the Middle Eastern food delivery market with an excellent management team. It will be a perfect addition to our current offering under the Talabat brand and strengthen our foothold in this region, where we see significant growth potential.”
Carriage was founded and is managed by CEO Abdullah Jihad Almutawa, CFO Musab Jihad Almutawa, COO Khaled Youssef Alqabandi, and CTO Jonathan Lau. The strong team of founders was key to the acquisition and will remain on board going forward. The company was founded in Kuwait and has extended into several other markets in the region.
Abdullah Jihad Almutawa, CEO of Carriage: “We are delighted to join forces with the leading global player in our space and are excited about the new opportunities that lie ahead of us. Becoming part of Delivery Hero will strengthen our business and extend our reach considerably.”
Based in Berlin, Delivery Hero is active across 40+ countries in Europe, the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region and operates its own delivery service primarily in 50+ high-density urban areas around the world.
