Online cab aggregator Ola has acquired food delivery service Foodpanda for an undisclosed amount. Ola has also said that it will invest $200 million into the food delivery business. DeliveryHero, which owned Foodpanda has agreed to sell the latter to Ola in return for shares in the Indian ride-hailing firm.

As one of India's pioneers in the food delivery space, Foodpanda has come to be a very efficient and profit-focused business over the last couple of years. Our commitment to invest $200 million in Foodpanda India will help the business be focused on growth by creating value for customers and partners. With Delivery Hero's global leadership and Ola's platform capabilities with unique local insights, this partnership is born out of strength. I look forward to welcoming the Foodpanda India team to the Ola family," said Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO, Ola.

Ola has now entered the food delivery service with this acquisition and directly competes with its rival Uber, which started its food delivery service UberEATS in June 2017.

DeliveryHero had acquired Foodpanda last year from Rocket Internet. 

Foodpanda’s Saurabh Kochhar has “decided to move on to pursue other opportunities”. Ola founding partner Pranay Jivrajka will interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found. He will be working with the existing management of Foodpanda India.

"The partnership with Ola will allow us to further consolidate markets where it strategically makes sense to collaborate with leading local players. At the same time, we consider our stake in Ola as a very valuable asset, while Ola's investment commitment in Foodpanda India is a clear and confident signal to the Indian market," said Niklas Ostberg, CEO and co-founder of Delivery Here AG.