me&u and Mr Yum announce merger

Mobile food and beverage ordering companies me&u and Mr Yum have announced the decision to join forces in an all-stock merger. The merger, which has publicly been in talks since May, is still subject to shareholder approval with the details of the merger still under wraps and a name for the combined business not yet announced. 

Both companies have been in competition with eachother since they were founded as tech start-ups in 2018 – me&u in Sydney and Mr Yum in Melbourne. They provide the hospitality industry with mobile ordering and guest marketing through QR code technology. Throughout Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA the companies collectively service 6,000 venues and process over AUD $2B of restaurant transactions annually.

“We’re both incredibly excited to join forces with another leader in this category. Over the years of competing in the marketplace, we’ve always had a deep respect for each other and are excited to learn from each other,” said Mr Yum CEO and co-founder Kim Teo.

 “From our international expansion efforts, we learnt that Australia has the highest penetration of QR code table ordering globally. We’re humbled that two Aussie-founded companies have built the best & most adopted platforms in our sector – used by thousands of venues and millions of guests.”

Kim Teo will run the combined business as CEO with me&u’s founder Stevan Premutico to sit on the board as a non-executive director, and me&u Chair Damian Smith appointed as the Chair.

“This is a rare opportunity to see two strong Australian companies coming together to take on the world,” said me&u founder, Stevan Premutico of the merger. “A shared ambition to blend together technology & great experiences to build a better, smarter future for our industry. Today’s announcement marks the beginning of a crazy exciting new era that will benefit customers & business owners around the world.”  

The two companies are expected to continue to trade separately until the merger deal closes, likely in late November or early December. 

“Four types of customers interact with our products today – the venue operator, guests, staff and head office teams. Over the next few months, our combined company will launch a number of new products/features focused on elevating the interactions between staff and guests, as well as marketing tools to help increase foot traffic and revenue,” added Kim.