Korean food delivery giant merged into German rival in $4 billion deal

By Kwak Yeon-soo

The Woowa Brothers company logo / Courtesy of Woowa Brothers

Woowa Brothers, operator of the Baedal Minjok food delivery service, said Friday that German food delivery giant Delivery Hero will acquire the company for $4 billion.

Delivery Hero will buy the 87 percent stake held by Woowa Brothers investors such as Goldman Sachs, Hillhouse Capital, Altos Ventures, Sequoia Capital and GIC.

It will acquire the remaining 13 percent owned by Woowa board members including CEO Kim Bong-jin later. Other details of the deal were not revealed.

The move reflects the fierce competition in the online food delivery market, with e-commerce platform Coupang and car-sharing platforms Uber and Grab joining the race for the lion's share.

“The market has been flooded with homegrown players and influential online platforms, leading Woowa to undertake a survival strategy,” Woowa Brothers said.

Woowa also announced it would create a joint venture with Delivery Hero in Singapore to manage the Asia-Pacific operations of the two companies.

The joint venture ― Woowa DH Asia ― will appoint Kim as chairman. Delivery Hero will hold a 50 percent plus one share stake.

The Berlin-based giant aims to expand in Korea, where it owns food delivery service operators Yogiyo and Baedaltong, and across Asia.

Delivery Hero operates in 11 Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.