The archive · Consumer Apps · Strategic decision · 2004–2024
Talabat's Gulf delivery bet: 2004 Kuwait ordering site to 2024's biggest tech IPO
Talabat bet Gulf diners would order food online before smartphones; Rocket Internet paid $170M in 2015, and it listed on Dubai's DFM in Dec 2024 raising ~$2B.
talabat (Talabat Holding PLC)
What the business is
Online food ordering and delivery platform connecting restaurants with customers across the Gulf and MENA, operating in eight countries.
How it started
Founded in Kuwait in 2004 by Abdulaziz Al Loughani and partners, talabat began as an online food-ordering site when the Gulf had no major delivery aggregator. Al Loughani sold it to Mohamed Jaafar in 2010, and by 2015 it covered Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain with 1,300+ restaurants.
What happened
Rocket Internet acquired the company outright for US$170M (€150M) in February 2015 — the largest MENA tech acquisition since Yahoo's 2009 Maktoob deal — and later transferred it to Delivery Hero, which kept expanding talabat across the region. By 2024 it operated in eight countries.
How it ended up
On 10 December 2024 talabat listed on the Dubai Financial Market, raising ~AED 7.5B (US$2.0B) after the offer was upsized from 15% to 20%; it was the largest global technology IPO of 2024 and the first technology IPO on DFM.
Background
Talabat was founded in Kuwait in 2004 by Abdulaziz Al Loughani and partners, betting that Gulf diners would order food online at a time when smartphones and online payments barely existed. The site became one of the region's largest delivery platforms, and Al Loughani sold it to Mohamed Jaafar in 2010; by 2015 it operated in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain with more than 1,300 restaurants.
Rocket Internet bought talabat outright in February 2015 for US$170M — the largest MENA tech acquisition since Yahoo's Maktoob deal — and later folded it into Delivery Hero. Under Delivery Hero, talabat expanded into eight countries and became the region's leading on-demand food, grocery and retail platform, reporting US$5.4B in GMV for the first nine months of 2024 with more than six million monthly active customers.
On 10 December 2024 talabat listed on the Dubai Financial Market, raising approximately US$2.0B after the offer was upsized from 15% to 20% and priced at the top of the range — the largest global technology IPO of 2024 and the first technology IPO on DFM. Delivery Hero retained a long-term majority stake.
What has to be true
- A mundane first-mover advantage can compound for two decades: talabat's head start became the region's default delivery network.
- The same company produced three exits — 2010 sale, 2015 Rocket buyout, 2024 IPO — showing patient regional consumer platforms keep creating value.
- Strong investor demand (upsized offer, top-of-range pricing) showed Gulf capital would pay up for a locally rooted platform.
- Ownership transfers from founder to local buyer to Rocket to Delivery Hero scaled the business without losing its local brand.
What can be applied
A boring early mover can compound into a category monopoly: Talabat started as a tiny Kuwaiti ordering site and every later entrant had to buy or fight it — the moat was distribution, not technology.
Aftermath
As of December 2024 talabat trades on the Dubai Financial Market with Delivery Hero retaining majority ownership. It reported US$5.4B GMV in 9M 2024 (up 21% year-on-year), more than six million monthly active customers, 65,000+ active partners and 119,000+ active riders, and continues to expand food, grocery and retail delivery across eight MENA countries.
Sources
- Rocket Internet acquires Kuwait's Talabat for $170M, largest MENA tech acquisition since Maktoob
- Delivery Hero lists talabat in 2024's largest global technology IPO
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe what you are building, and see who is betting on the same thing.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card