Delivery Hero Group (Delivery Hero), the global online food ordering and delivery marketplace, announced today it has agreed to acquire Carriage, a young and fast-growing food delivery platform based in Kuwait and operating in the GCC.

Carriage operates a hybrid business model offering both, delivery marketplaces and own delivery services in the Middle East, allowing it to add restaurants to its marketplaces that either do not offer deliver services themselves or intend to discontinue their own delivery services. This hybrid business model reflects a wider shift across several regions with a growing demand of customers and restaurants for such combined services. The acquisition ensures that Delivery Hero will stay at the forefront of this shift.

Niklas Östberg, CEO of Delivery Hero, said: “Carriage is an innovative player in the Middle Eastern food delivery market with an excellent management team. It will be a perfect addition to our current offering under the Talabat brand and strengthen our foothold in this region, where we see significant growth potential.”

Abdullah Jihad Almutawa, CEO of Carriage: “We are delighted to join forces with the leading global player in our space and are excited about the new opportunities that lie ahead of us. Becoming part of Delivery Hero will strengthen our business and extend our reach considerably.”

Carriage was founded and is managed by CEO Abdullah Jihad Almutawa, CFO Musab Jihad Almutawa, COO Khaled Youssef Alqabandi, and CTO Jonathan Lau. The strong team of founders was key to the acquisition and will remain on board going forward. The company was founded in Kuwait and has extended into several other markets in the region.

The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.