Regulators Approve Amazon Bid for 16% Stake in Deliveroo

UK regulators have given the go-ahead for Amazon to buy a stake in Deliveroo, the UK-based takeaway delivery group, after a review showed that the move would not hurt competition. 

Deliveroo announced last year that Amazon was the main investor in a funding round of US$ 575 million funding round. If successful, Amazon would gain a 16-per cent share of the company. 

The six-month investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) cleared the deal on competition grounds having analyzed company documents, surveying more than 3,000 consumers and reading submissions from third parties.   

“Our decision reflects the scale of Amazon’s investment in Deliveroo…  and its incentives to compete in both markets,” Stuart McIntosh, who led the inquiry, said in a statement, according to AFP. 

However, he warned that if Amazon were to increase its shareholding in Deliveroo, the move could trigger a further investigation by the CMA. 

Created in 2013, Deliveroo has grown to deliver meals to clients in more than 200 cities across 12 countries.  

The global online takeaway food market is estimated to be valued at US$ 230 billion in the year 2027, growing at a CAGR of 9.9 per cent in the period 2020 to 2027, according to a recent report from Research and Markets. 

The report says the global online takeaway food market is on the uptake with a slew of favourable market dynamics such as growth in demand from emerging markets, higher internet penetration, increasing urbanization and a rise in the number of the working population.