Alibaba steps up battle with Meituan-Dianping

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced on Friday the consolidation of two of its food review and delivery-related businesses, intensifying a battle with Tencent Holdings Ltd-backed rival Meituan-Dianping for dominance of the Chinese market.

Food delivery app Ele.me has merged with restaurant review and lifestyle services platform Koubei, according to Alibaba. The new entity will have a presence across 676 Chinese cities, covering 3.5 million active merchants, the internet giant said in a press release.

The new company stands to benefit from Ele.me's instant delivery fleet of 667,000 deliverymen and Koubei's consumer analytics capabilities derived from its 167 million active users, aiming to promote the digitalization of China's local service market, the company said.