Two titans of online food ordering agreed to merge Monday. Chicago-based Grubhub and New York-centric Seamless agreed to join forces, creating an as-yet-unnamed entity aimed at signing up more restaurants and driving sales higher.
Two titans of online food ordering agreed to merge Monday. Chicago-based Grubhub and New York-centric Seamless agreed to join forces, creating an as-yet-unnamed entity aimed at signing up more restaurants and driving sales higher.
There are any number of reasons to do a merger now. It gives the company a bigger footprint that might make for a more successful public offering somewhere down the line. And merging while the industry is still young might make it easier to regulatory approval than later on, when online ordering may be a bigger part of consumer spending and more likely to raise the hackles of regulators.
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That aside, there are synergies. Grubhub might be interested in Seamless’ strength in the corporate catering business. And Grubhub has some technologies that Seamless might find attractive, such as its Order Hub platform. Presumably the companies are going to be spending less money trying to poach customers from one another. And there are probably some efficiencies to be had.
At any rate, here are the takeaways on the two companies and the deal, the terms of which weren’t revealed. Regulators still have to approve it.
Year founded
Headquarters
Employees
Sales
Restaurants
Focus:
Mobile presence
Financing
Previous deals
