S Korea’s Woowa Brothers acquires food delivery startup Vietnammm

Vietnammm was the entity that acquired Foodpanda’s Vietnam operations in 2015 when a lot of other Rocket Internet ventures exited the country.

Vietnammm, in which Netherlands’ Takeaway.com had invested, is one of the first food delivery companies to start operations in Vietnam. Another first-mover is Diadiemanuong.com. However, the local market has been dominated by newer entrants, Now by Foody and GrabFood.

The potential of this segment remains strong for more startups to grow, according a recent study on food delivery by local research firm GCOMM. About 99 per cent of respondents to its survey said they used online food delivery services at least three times a month.

The six most popular apps in Vietnam are GrabFood, Now, GoFood, LaLa, Vietnammm and Lixi, according to the study.

Woowa Brothers is said to be eyeing the Vietnamese market since last year. The South Korean company, specialising in developing apps and advertising platforms, raised its $320 million Series G funding in December 2018, which valued the company at 3 trillion won. Investors of the round included Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital and Singapore sovereign fund GIC.

Woowa Brothers operates food delivery platform Baedal Minjok in Korea, which was backed by Goldman Sachs.

The company has been investing in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technology to develop delivery robot, according to Korean media.

It is expected to kick off Vietnamese operation in the first half of 2019. It is unclear whether Vietnammm will be rebranded and how Woowa Brothers will take over the business. An email sent to Vietnammm has not elicited a response at the time of publishing this article.

VNF ( Deal Street Asia )