Seamless and GrubHub, two of the largest online food delivery services in the US, have officially announced “the signing of a definitive agreement” to merge into a combined company.
This news, which confirms earlier reports that the two companies were in talks, follows more than nine years of heavy competition. If the deal goes through, GrubHub founder Matt Maloney will take the reins of the new company and current Seamless CEO Jonathan Zabusky will serve as president.
As for what the new firm will be called, the official release states that “the combined organization’s name and marketing brands are expected to be determined following regulatory approval.” Given that “Seamless” — once called SeamlessWeb during the dot com boom — is a confusingly ambiguous name for a site that enables food ordering, it wouldn’t surprise us if revisions were made.
New stats were also shared in the announcement, including that the two companies facilitated approximately $875 million in gross food sales to local businesses. This apparently resulted in over $100 million in combined revenue.
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In the announcement, both companies claim that merging will lead to “accelerated innovation” and “enhanced financial flexibility.” The latter statement may be true, but considering the companies’ relationship up until now — they historically fought aggressively for the same customers — we’re betting a sudden decline in competition won’t help customers in the long-run. As stated above, the merger is still subject to regulatory approval.
As for what’s left of the competitive food delivery space, companies like Delivery.com, Eat24 and the decentralized Ordr.in remain.
Image credit: AFP/Getty Images
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