(Bloomberg) —
Delivery Hero SE’s second attempt to buy a Saudi rival has failed after the local competition watchdog rejected its takeover offer for The Chefz.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Competition didn’t disclose any details or the reasons for its decision in a statement on Sunday but said Germany’s Delivery Hero sought to buy all of the Riyadh-based firm.
Delivery Hero and The Chefz didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Delivery Hero is coming up empty in its efforts expand in the Middle East’s biggest economy by acquiring rivals, as deal talks earlier this year with Saudi e-commerce startup Mrsool collapsed and ended in dispute. Elsewhere in the region, the Berlin-based food-delivery company has recently grown its footprint by buying Dubai grocery delivery platform InstaShop.
Read: Delivery Hero, Mrsool CEOs Clash on How Deal Talks Collapsed
The Chefz, which started out as an app that specialized in home delivery for fine dining restaurants before expanding its services in the kingdom, competes against Delivery Hero’s Hungerstation and local firms like Jahez International Co. Delivery Hero’s regional operations also include Talabat and Yemeksepeti in Turkey.
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