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Business News/ Companies / Zomato buys Turkish rival Mekanist
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Zomato buys Turkish rival Mekanist

This is Zomato's seventh acquisition in six months, making it among the most aggressive deal-chasing start-ups globally

With the acquisition of Mekanist, Zomato’s restaurant coverage will increase to more than 50,000 across Turkey from about 27,500 now.Premium
With the acquisition of Mekanist, Zomato’s restaurant coverage will increase to more than 50,000 across Turkey from about 27,500 now.

New Delhi: Zomato Media Pvt. Ltd, which runs an online restaurant search service, said on Thursday that it has bought Turkish rival Mekanist for an undisclosed sum, continuing its acquisition spree in international markets.

This is Zomato’s seventh acquisition in six months, making it among the most aggressive deal-chasing start-ups globally. Earlier this month, the Gurgaon-based company acquired US-based rival Urbanspoon for about $50 million in one of the biggest overseas deals by an Indian start-up.

The company now expects to go slow on expanding into new markets. “The focus in 2015 will be to grow in the markets we are present in. All our bandwidth will go into consolidation and to ramp up our revenues," said co-founder Pankaj Chaddah.

However, Chaddah does not rule out more acquisitions in the coming year. “I can just say that there is nothing on cards for another month or so. We move very quickly when it comes to acquisitions and the year has just begun," he added.

The firm is also looking to double its headcount in the next 12 months. It currently employs more than 1,000 people.

Founded in 2008 by Deepinder Goyal and Chaddah, Zomato is looking to grow its sales team in markets such as Australia, Canada, Turkey and the US.

The company within this week expects to introduce a payment option in its mobile app in Dubai. This will be later rolled out in New Zealand too. “We are looking to roll out the payment option in markets where the credit card penetration and usage is high," said Chaddah.

However, it will take some time to implement this in India.

Earlier this month, the company said that it was in talks to raise about $100 million in fresh funding, just two months after it received $60 million from Info Edge India Ltd, Vy Capital and Sequoia Capital.

Info Edge currently owns more than 50% in Zomato.

With the acquisition of Mekanist in an all cash deal, Zomato’s restaurant coverage will increase to more than 50,000 across Turkey from about 27,500 now.

“Mekanist has established itself as one of the heavyweights in the online restaurant search and discovery space in Turkey. We’re excited to be joining forces with them as we continue to grow in one of our most important markets," Goyal said in a statement.

Founded in 2008, Mekanist has over 190,000 listed establishments such as the most popular restaurants, cafes, and bars, along with over 500,000 reviews from its 1.5 million signed-up user base on web and mobile. Mekanist will be integrated with Zomato and the two teams will be merged, the company said.

Zomato has emerged as one of the leading start-ups among India’s Internet firms, joining the ranks of Flipkart, Snapdeal and Ola. However, unlike the others, Zomato has built a significant international business.

Zomato Media is currently valued at $660 million.

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Published: 29 Jan 2015, 01:57 PM IST
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