After Zomato acquires Uber Eats for Rs 2,485 cr, here's what will happen to users?

New Delhi, Jan 21: Zomato on Tuesday said it has acquired the Indian business of Uber Eats in an all-stock deal that will give Uber 9.99 per cent stake in the Indian food delivery and restaurant discovery platform.

Uber Eats in India will discontinue operations and direct restaurants, delivery partners, and users of the Uber Eats apps to the Zomato platform, effective Tuesday, a statement said.

"We are proud to have pioneered restaurant discovery and to have created a leading food delivery business across more than 500 cities in India. This acquisition significantly strengthens our position in the category," Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said.

The deal comes days after Zomato had raised USD 150 million in funding from existing investor Ant Financial, an Alibaba affiliate, at a USD 3 billion valuation.

What will happen to Uber eats users?

Uber Eats, which entered India in 2017, has about 26,000 restaurants listed on its platform from 41 cities. With this deal, Uber Eats India users have now become Zomato users. However, Uber Eats India users won't be compromised in any way.

Uber Eats will discontinue its India operations and direct restaurants, delivery partners, Uber Eats app users to the Zomato platform.

What about the delivery partners?

The delivery partners who were earlier associated with Uber Eats India will be on-boarded with Zomato. We welcome them and want to assure them we have their best interest in mind.

Employees may face uncertainty

Zomato will not absorb Uber Eat employees, which means they will either be absorbed in Uber's other verticals or could face lay-off. There's little clarity on their future roles right now.