Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Swiggy to buy table booking platform Dineout

- Joseph Rai

DINEOUT WAS ACQUIRED BY TIMES INTERNET IN 2014 THROUGH ITS TIMESCITY PLATFORM

NEW DELHI: Food aggregator Swiggy has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Times Internet-owned table booking platform Dineout, it said on Friday.

The acquisitio­n will allow Swiggy to explore synergies and offer new experience­s in a highuse category, said Sriharsha Majety, chief executive officer (CEO), Swiggy. The food aggregator did not disclose the financial details of the transactio­n.

Mint first reported about the potential acquisitio­n earlier in February.

“Dineout is a well- loved brand that enjoys loyalty from both consumers and restaurant­s. Times Internet and the founding team should be credited for the transforma­tional impact they have brought about in the dining out experience through their products, technology, and vast selection of restaurant partners,” Majety said.

Post the acquisitio­n, Dineout will continue to operate as an independen­t app and its founders Ankit Mehrotra, Nikhil Bakshi, Sahil Jain, and Vivek Kapoor will join Swiggy, it said.

“At Dineout, we always wanted to revolution­ize the restaurant industry and this acquisitio­n is an accelerati­ng step towards the same goal,“said Dineout CEO Mehrotra.

Founded in 2012, Dineout was acquired by Times Internet in 2014 through its TimesCity platform for an estimated value of Rs60 crore. Dineout has a network of more than 50,000 restaurant partners in 20 cities.

“We are proud of the positive impact that Dineout has created for consumers and restaurant­s, helping streamline and improve the eating out experience. Swiggy+Dineout is a powerful combinatio­n,” said Satyan Gajwani, vice chairman, Times Internet.

Swiggy, the SoftBank-backed Indian food delivery aggregator, closed a $700 million funding round in January led by asset management firm Invesco, almost doubling its valuation from its previous fund raise to $10.7 billion. The firm’s food delivery business had nearly doubled in gross order value in the last year, it said.

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