Thailand-based food delivery platform and unicorn Line Man Wongnai is said to be in talks to take over the local unit of Foodpanda, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday citing sources familiar with the discussions.
The report added that Foodpanda Thailand, owned by Delivery Hero SE, was previously valued at $100 million but the potential deal size may have been trimmed due to market headwinds.
The deal has not concluded and the discussions may even be scrapped, the report added.
Line Man Wongnai, Delivery Hero, and Foodpanda had not responded to queries from DealStreetAsia at the time of publishing this story.
Line Man Wongnai was formed in 2020 following the merger of delivery service player Line Man and Wongnai, a Thai restaurant review platform. It ascended to unicorn status following a $265 million Series B round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and Line Corporation, the operator of Japan’s largest messaging app, in September.
In an exclusive interview with DealStreetAsia following the fundraising, the company’s CFO In Young Chung said that Line Man Wongnai aims to achieve breakeven and make a public listing in a few years.
Line Man Wongnai’s bigger rival Grab announced in its third quarter results that it had reached profitability on an adjusted EBITDA basis ahead of plan, which was previously set for the second quarter of 2023.
In September, DealStreetAsia reported that Foodpanda has let go of some of its employees in the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore which was later confirmed by the startup. It said the “painful decision” was part of its plan to reduce costs and achieve profitability.