Hello all you wonderful people, and happy Thursday. We have a relatively brisk issue for you to close out the work week, with all the latest on Talabat’s acquisition of Instashop, the best ads to watch this Ramadan season, and the food industry’s Machiavellian plans to develop foods that circumvent the effects of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

DFM-listed Talabat acquired 100% of Dubai-based on-demand grocery delivery marketplace Instashop in a related-party transaction from its Berlin-based parent company and majority shareholder Delivery Hero as part of a restructuring push, it said in a statement (pdf). Instashop will continue to operate as an independent brand, under Talabat’s grocery and retail vertical. The sale and purchase agreement was first announced in September 2024, according to the statement.

The cash-based transaction was valued at USD 32 mn which was financed by Talabat’s internal reserves, with the amount reflecting Instashop’s capital amount rather than its fair value, the statement reads.

Good news for Talabat’s public shareholders? The purchase price is a discount from the valuation price (USD 360 mn) at which Delivery Hero bought Instashop back in 2020. This could be viewed favorably by the public shareholders of Talabat which took a 20% stake to market in USD 2 bn IPO in December 2024. It’s noteworthy that the valuation amount was paid by Delivery Hero through an initial payment of USD 270 mn, while the remaining amount was tied to Instashop’s future performance through an earnout clause.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The EU’s 27 national leaders are meeting in Brussels today alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to pledge support for Ukraine and plans to ramp up European defense spending, following US President Donald Trump’s suspension of military aid to Kyiv earlier this week. The meeting aims to offer political backing to several European Commission proposals unveiled earlier this week that could see EUR 800 bn mobilized for regional defense, including a EUR 150 bn fund earmarked for member-country defense borrowing.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

  • Egypt’s inflation is expected to have cooled significantly in February, with analysts only divided over just how far the month’s annual headline urban inflation reading will fall.
  • A whole lot of Cypriot gas will be coming our way by the end of the decade: Egypt’s liquefied in facilities will start receiving 400 mn cubic feet per day (mcf/d) from Cyprus’ Cronos gas field starting mid-2027 and another 500 mcf\d of gas from the country’s Aphrodite field by 2030.
  • Al Ismaelia targets USD 100 mn in fresh funding:Ismailia for Real Estate Investment is looking to boost its EGP 385 mn capital by USD 50-100 mn through a regional funding round in 2H 2025.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Things are starting to warm up in the capital, with tomorrow’s mercury set to rise to 23°C before dipping to a chilly low of 13°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.

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