Zomato to sell UAE business to Delivery Hero

Berlin based food delivery player Delivery Hero has acquired United Arab Emirates (UAE) business of Gurugram based food delivery and restaurant discovery company, Zomato.

The acquisition will add 1.2 Mn monthly orders and $2 Mn monthly revenue to Delivery Hero’s Middle East and North Africa region business and will strengthen its leadership position in the UAE. The online food ordering company Delivery Hero is present across 41 countries in Europe, the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. Delivery Hero also operates its own delivery service primarily in over 200 cities around the world. In India, Delivery Hero was invested in Foodpanda but later sold it for 1% stake in Ola in 2017.

UAE was the first global foray of Zomato in 2012 and soon accounted for 20% of its orders. The company also launched its premium service Zomato Gold in UAE in 2017 and in one year had over 380 restaurant partners for over 15,000 Zomato Gold members.

Zomato has been in a tough situation since its Bengaluru-based rival Swiggy raised $1 Bn in 2018, at the end to the year after joining the unicorn club earlier in the year. To challenge this, Zomato has also been in talks to raise a large funding round of $500 Mn-$1 Bn. Zomato recorded $1Bn in annual gross merchandise value. It also posted a 40% growth in its revenue for FY18 and targeted expansion to 100 cities across India.

Gozoop to acquire 56 Blue Lights

Mumbai based digital media agency Gozoop is in talks to acquire offline activation agency and syndicated content provider 56 Blue Lights in an all cash deal. Through this acquisition, Gozoop aim to carry out all their offline work. Gozoop is building the offline part by making hires from traditional agencies such as JWT and others.

Acquisition of UAE based 56 Blue Lights will enable Gozoop to offer a wider product portfolio including events, radio, television programming and outdoor advertising. Gozoop, which has about 140 clients including about 80 on a retainer basis, will get access to 56 Blue Lights clientele. Through the acquisition the company expects to grow its topline by over 50% in the coming fiscal.

In the last five years, the company has expanded its services to the US, the UAE and Singapore. However, about two thirds of the company’s revenue comes from the Indian market. With complementing domains of expertise, 56 Blue Lights and Gozoop will together be able to leverage the potential of 360 degree marketing by coalescing online and offline marketing strategies. The company counts Holiday Inn, Regal Group, Bank of Baroda, Noor Oil, Khaleej Times, and the Landmark Group among clients.

56 Blue Lights was founded in 2013 and has been the name behind memorable content in the UAE such as the Cricket and Carrom Premier League, Nityodita Festival of Fine Arts and Musicians United. Earlier this year in April, Indus Net Technologies, a Kolkata based internet consulting company, made a strategic investment to acquire a majority stake in TechShu after buying out the existing investors. 

Zee acquires UAE based Hum 106.2

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) which operates entertainment channels like Zee TV and Zee Cinema has announced its foray into radio broadcasting space with the acquisition of UAE based radio station “Hum 106.2”. ZEEL already operates satellite television channels like Zee Aflam and Zee Alwan in the UAE Market.

Hum 106.2, previously owned and operated by Shamal Media Services, is a UAE based Hindi FM Radio channel with a current market share of 26%. The frequency was one of the first Hindi and Urdu language frequencies in the UAE to hit airwaves in the 1990s. This move comes immediately after ZEEL forayed into film production and distribution in the UAE and Middle East markets.

Radio has been an area of interest for ZEE for quite some time and after extensive planning and studying of the brand values, ratings and revenue generated by various stations, HUM FM was the best option. Now, Zee can offer media across television, radio and digital platforms leading to a great synergy between content and mediums. More announcements are expected in the coming weeks on the future channel programming and its positioning.

Earlier this month, ZEEL entered the Hispanic market with the launch of its Spanish language Bollywood movie channel Zee Mundo on 13 September. ZEEL also sold its sports network TEN Sports to Sony Pictures Network (SPN) in all cash deal worth $385 Million on 1 September. For the quarter ended June 2016, ZEEL had reported a net profit of Rs 218.1 crore, a 21.4% increase from Rs 179.6 crore, in the year ago period.