Baidu meals on wheels 'to go off menu'

Major food delivery competitors have been losing big money in fight for market share

Chinese consumers who live on cheap meals delivered to their doorsteps may see their happy days numbered because the steep discounts now offered by business operators may end soon as a result of market consolidation.

Media reports since Monday have said that China's online search giant Baidu Inc is close to completing a deal to sell its food delivery business, Waimai, and its group-buying e-commerce business, Nuomi, to rival Meituan-Dianping, an online-to-offline (O2O) service provider backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd.