Deliveroo PLC (LSE:ROO), the UK-based food delivery company, and Gojek, the Indonesian ride-hailing and payments platform, announced a partnership in Singapore on Tuesday, which Jefferies thinks pushes the London-listed firm a step closer to becoming a super-app.
“We believe our prediction for a cycle of fragmentation may have taken a decisive step closer,” analysts at the US bank said.
The deal will see Deliveroo integrate its food delivery platform with Gojek's ride-hailing and payments services, a sign of the growing trend of super-apps in Asia.
Super-apps are platforms that offer a wide range of services, from food delivery to ride-hailing to payments, and they’re becoming increasingly popular in Asia, where consumers are looking for convenient and integrated ways to access a variety of services.
As this is the first time that two major players in the food delivery and ride-hailing sectors have partnered in Singapore, Jefferies thinks similar partnerships are pushing rivals into creating “competitive responses to super-app strategies.”
Jefferies rates the stock a 'buy' and targets a 170p share price, a 36% premium to the stock's 125p trading price on Thursday.