Takeaway goes to sea, "internal roll-over and external change": Didi spends 1 billion to prevent Meituan from entering Brazil, Keeta files a lawsuit.

Recently, according to overseas media reports, 99Food, a Brazilian food delivery business under Didi (DIDIY.US), has signed "either-or" exclusive agreements with merchants through huge cash prepayments and clearly prohibits merchants from collaborating with Meituan (03690)/Keeta in any form. In response to this, Keeta, an international food delivery brand under Meituan, has filed a lawsuit against the local court. Keeta claims that these specific terms are designed to prevent Keeta from entering the Brazilian market, thereby limiting competition and reducing innovation. To make businesses choose between them, Didi's food delivery platform offers exclusive contracts According to Brazilian media Globo, the "platform war" in the Brazilian food delivery market has escalated again. 99Food, backed by Didi Chuxing, re-entered the Brazilian food delivery market last month and invested 1 billion reais. In order to quickly grab market share, it has offered millions of reais in "upfront incentives" to some "strategic" restaurants, with the condition that these restaurants do not establish any commercial or contractual relationship with Keeta (Meituan's brand in Brazil) during the contract period. However, it does not restrict merchants from cooperating with the local food delivery giant iFood. In exchange, 99Food pays a one-time "investment" fee, but the specific amount or list is not disclosed. According to sources, the incentives are only in the hundreds of thousands for small businesses, while large businesses have received 130 million reais in incentives. The report also pointed out that 99Food responded by saying that these practices are "legal and common" in the Brazilian food delivery industry, and that their "tiered business strategy" is to protect their market share in a highly concentrated and competitive market. In short, 99Food is exchanging high amounts of cash for exclusive cooperation with restaurants, attempting to keep Keeta out and marking the start of the "money-burning" and "exclusive" battle in the Brazilian food delivery market. Previously, 99Food announced an investment of 1 billion reais in Brazil, and has already spent 900 million reais in countering Keeta. In the Brazilian food delivery war, Didi 99Food was previously fined It is reported that Didi 99Food has been sued again for unfair competition after being issued a restraining order by a court in Sao Paulo for high-price malicious purchase of "Keeta" keywords. On August 11th local time, the court ordered 99Food to stop confusing the search results of "Keeta" keywords on Google and similar platforms within three days, with a daily fine of 20,000 reais for non-compliance. According to the "Sao Paulo Page" report, Didi 99Food has now contacted more than 100 restaurant chains in the local area, offering at least 900 million reais (over 1 billion RMB) in prepayments for an "either-or" exclusive agreement. However, the "either-or" clause mainly targets Meituan/Keeta, and does not restrict merchants from any cooperation with the local food delivery giant iFood. Previously, Didi 99Food responded to the Brazilian business media "ISTO DINHEIRO," admitting the "either-or" strategy and calling it a strategy aimed at core merchants. Didi invests another 1 billion, the food delivery war continues According to a survey conducted by the Brazilian Bar and Restaurant Association (Abrasel) in cooperation with the Brazilian Sebrae, iFood currently occupies 80% of the local food delivery market. Rappi is in second place with a 9% market share. The market share of other participants does not exceed 3%. According to overseas media Dinheiro, several food delivery apps announced investments of tens of billions of dollars in Brazil from the end of April to the beginning of May to compete in this market. Among them, 99Food invested 1 billion reais, and Rappi announced an investment of 1.4 billion reais in the next three years. Brazil's leading food business iFood has been prohibited from entering into exclusive contracts with chains with more than 30 restaurants by the end of 2023, intensifying competition in the industry. This rule was established by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) and also set a series of rules aimed at curbing anti-competitive practices in the industry. Meituan and Didi are both newcomers, with Didi just restarting its Brazilian food delivery business 99Food in June this year; Meituan's Keeta announced in May that it will enter Brazil in the coming months and is currently in the business preparation stage. This article is reprinted from Sina Finance, GMTEight Editor: Chen Wenfang.