Otlob.com acquired by Rocket Internet to be part of Hellofood. Good, Bad or Ugly?

Otlob.com has been knowns as the first & largest online food ordering platform in Egypt which was started in September 1999. However, this month Otlob got acquired for 4% the value of its Middle East counterpart Talabat by Rocket Internet owner of Hello Food and the giant internet german incubator which went public for more than $2B in 2014.

It seems like Otlob.com has a history of what looks like a flip early exit strategy. Ayman Rashed, Otlob founder, sold it for ITWorx only 7 months after launching. One year later it was sold to LinkDotNet (A15 now) with almost four times of that price. And although earlier this year Fadi Antaki, CEO of A15, announced expansion plans for Otlob.com, yet today it was sold in an undisclosed deal that is predicted to be at a figure less than $10 million.

Looking to Talabat- Rocket deal of $170 million, one can wonder if this exit is anywhere near a celebration for Otlob. It’s not rocket science. Talabat showed by far higher growth rate than Otlob in the last decade to achieve almost 10X orders per day. Yet Otlob’s slow growth rate would stay a mystery putting in mind the massive and more promising Egyptian market.

Can this acquisition arm Otlob for a turbocharge growth in the next few years? That remains definitely the question that only time shall answer.