Zomato Pays $206M For Uber Eats India, Filing Says

Uber said that it has sold its food delivery operation in India to Zomato, a local competitor, for $206 million, according to TechCrunch.

The ridesharing firm said in a regulatory filing that the “fair value of the consideration” it took in for the India business of Eats from Zomato was $206 million. That also encompassed “reimbursement of goods and services tax receivable from Zomato” of $35 million.

India is an important international market for Uber. The company announced two months ago that it sold Uber Eats’ India business to Zomato for a stake of 9.99 percent in the food delivery company. The two firms had not made financial terms of the arrangement known.

Uber Eats’ departure from India created a duopoly in the food delivery space with Zomato and Swiggy. Swiggy is India’s No. 1 food delivery business, per industry estimates. The companies, however, are grappling with a trail to profitability in the country.

According to TechCrunch, a venture capitalist said food delivery operations don’t have many alternatives to subsidizing the price of products as many of their diners wouldn’t be able to have the resources to buy those items.

In separate news, Swiggy notched $113 million in a Series I funding round last month. Venture capital fund Prosus Ventures led round. Wellington Management Company and Meituan Dianping also participated.

At the time, it was noted that Swiggy had a valuation of $3.6 billion, which was a bit more than its past $3.3 billion valuation. Sriharsha Majety, Swiggy co-founder and CEO, said the firm will use the funds to invest in cloud kitchens and “new lines of business,” such as more delivery options apart from food.

Prosus Ventures invested in Swiggy three years ago and, since that time, it has grown into the food delivery company’s largest investor.

“Swiggy continues to exhibit strong execution and a steadfast commitment to delivering the best service to consumers and has one of the best operational teams in food delivery globally,” said Larry Illg, CEO of Prosus Ventures and Food, said at the time.