Douyin and Ele.me Both Deny Acquisition Rumors

On December 19th, there were market rumors that Douyin is currently in talks with Alibaba to acquire Ele.me. In response to this, the responsible person from Douyin stated that there is no such plan.

Insiders from Ele.me also stated that the cooperation between both parties has been steadily progressing, but the so-called ‘acquisition’ is completely groundless.

According to reports, in August last year, Ele.me and Douyin jointly announced a partnership. Both parties stated that they would work together to explore new scenarios for local life services and bring a new experience of “instant viewing, ordering, and delivery” in the era of video. Based on this collaboration, Ele.me will use the Douyin open platform as a carrier through mini-programs. Together with Douyin’s rich product scenes and technological capabilities, it will help millions of businesses provide local life services from content recommendation to online ordering and instant delivery for 600 million daily active users on Douyin.

The takeaway industry has gone through years of fierce competition, from the tripartite rivalry between Meituan, Ele.me, and Baidu Takeout to the merger of Baidu Takeout and Ele.me, and then Ele.me being acquired by Alibaba. Currently, in the takeaway market, Ele.me backed by Alibaba and Meituan with Tencent‘s imprint are the two giants and main competitors. In December 2021, Meituan reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Kuaishou for mutual connectivity.

On November 16th, Alibaba Group Holding Limited released its financial report for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024 (ending on September 30th). During this quarter, the revenue of the Local Services Group increased by 16% year-on-year to RMB 15.564 billion (approximatly ＄2.2 billion), driven by strong growth in Ele.me and Amap businesses. The number of orders also grew nearly 20% compared to the previous year. Adjusted EBITA showed a loss of RMB 2.564 billion(approximatly ＄0.36 billion), indicating a further narrowing of losses.

SEE ALSO: Chinese Food Delivery Platforms Meituan and Ele.me Interviewed by Market Regulators