Ola's Foodpanda acquisition underscores new-age deals driven by '3 Ds'

Data, delivery, and digitalism will likely trigger more partnerships, buyouts and joint ventures in the new year

Last week ride-hailing firm, Ola acquired food delivery company Foodpanda’s India business from its German parent, Delivery Hero. It will invest $200 million (Rs1,282 crore) into Foodpanda India.Meanwhile, rival Uber has been running its meal order and delivery platform UberEATS in India since May 2017. This author explains how the "3D advantage", which involves data, delivery, and digitalism, is driving buyouts and sellouts in the digital economy. 

The easy part in Ola Cabs owner ANI Technologies spending $200 million to acquire Foodpanda's Indian unit from German leader Delivery Hero is, of course, the simple logic of keeping