Uber offloads Indian food delivery business

Uber has struck a deal to sell its Indian food delivery service to local food app Zomato.

Under the terms of the all-share deal, financial details of which were not disclosed, in exchange the US tech giant will receive a 9.99% stake in the Indian company.

Zomato, which already operates in more than 500 cities across India, said the deal would “significantly strengthen” its position.

“We are proud to have pioneered restaurant discovery and to have created a leading food delivery business across India,” founder and chief executive Deepinder Goyal said. “This acquisition significantly strengthens our position.”

San Francisco-based Uber launched Uber Eats in India in 2017 but has faced stiff competition from the likes of Zomato and larger rival Swiggy.

Uber insisted the country was still a core market, however. “India remains an exceptionally important market to Uber and we will continue to invest in growing our local rides business, which is already the clear category leader,” said chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi.

“We have been very impressed by Zomato’s ability to grow rapidly in a capital-efficient matter and we wish them continued success,” he added.

Uber was actively looking to slash global losses as it moves towards reporting its first profit by 2021. It reported a quarterly loss of more than $1.0bn in November.