Delivery Hero to sell Yogiyo to seal $4bn Woowa deal

Germany’s Delivery Hero said it has agreed to sell South Korean food delivery app Yogiyo as part of the conditions for regulatory approval of its $4 billion takeover of South Korean food delivery app owner Woowa Brothers.

“Following the announcement by the Korea Fair Trade Commission on December 28, Delivery Hero will receive conditional regulatory approval for the strategic partnership with Woowa Brothers Corp., South Korea’s largest online food delivery platform,” said Delivery Hero.

“As part of the transaction, a joint venture will be established in Singapore to manage the foodpanda operations of the Delivery Hero Group and Woowa entities in Asia.

“The regulatory approval will be conditional on Delivery Hero divesting its South Korean subsidiary Delivery Hero Korea LLC (including Yogiyo) as well as on behavioural remedies applicable to the operation of Delivery Hero Korea LLC until completion of divestiture.”

Delivery Hero CEO Niklas Östberg said: “We are deeply saddened by the required condition to divest Delivery Hero’s subsidiary Delivery Hero Korea in South Korea.

“I want to personally express our gratitude to the team for all these years of collaboration and quest to create an amazing customer experience.

“We wish Delivery Hero Korea the best for the future, and will work hard to ensure that this transition is as smooth as possible for all impacted employees.”

Woowa CEO Bongjin Kim said: “There is tremendous potential in the Korean food delivery market and we are very excited to partner up with Delivery Hero to benefit from their knowledge around logistics, technology, and scaling businesses.

“Our partnership will move the whole ecosystem forward, and we will work together to innovate the delivery industry in Asia.”