Rappi has announced an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the Brazilian company Box Delivery, which specializes in the fast delivery of food to large restaurants and retailers in the country. The transaction will be made in cash and shares, but the amount has not been disclosed by the parties.
The purchase is still being analyzed by Brazil’s antitrust authority Cade. Box Delivery is said to have had sales of BRL 200 million (USD 39.4 million) in the last year.
Two months ago, Cade imposed new competition rules on the delivery segment market leader iFood, limiting the platform’s exclusivity with restaurants to 25 percent of its partners through the signing of a consent decree.
The co-founder and president of Rappi, Sebastián Mejía, reiterated that the negotiations with Box Delivery were not a result of the iFood consent decree, but he praised Cade and said he was optimistic about the future of the sector.
When the consent decree was announced, Rappi CEO Tijana Jankoic told finance newspaper Valor that the authority’s decision was extremely positive for the sector, which was harmed by monopolistic practices, and that the agreement encouraged her company to return to prioritize investments in Brazil.
Since 2020, other competitors such as Uber and 99, in addition to the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants, had joined together through legal representations that requested the investigation of the exclusivity agreements that iFood had with customers.
Due to the high competition in the Brazilian food delivery sector, Uber had stopped its Uber Eats operation in the country in March 2022.
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