UPDATE 1-Delivery service firm Takeaway's quarterly orders surge on acquisitions

(Adds details on results and merger)

Oct 9 (Reuters) - Dutch online food delivery company Takeaway.com reported an 87% increase in third-quarter orders on Wednesday, driven by organic growth and acquisitions.

The company processed 41.6 million orders across its markets in the period, supported by strong sales in Germany where it completed the acquisition of the local arm of the world's biggest online food delivery firm, Delivery Hero, in April.

Scale is all-important in the food-delivery business as competitors scramble to offer consumers the biggest offering of restaurants. Most players, excluding Britain's Just Eat, are yet to produce profits as they spend heavily on marketing and acquisitions.

Amsterdam-based Takeaway.com said it expects its nine billion pounds ($10.99 billion) all-share merger with Just Eat, which would create a firm that would rival Uber Eats as the world's largest food-delivery company outside China, to complete by around year-end.

"The company is now EBITDA positive in both the Netherlands and the Germany segment, and for the company as a whole," Takeaway.com's Chief Executive Officer Jitse Groen said in a statement.

($1 = 0.8190 pounds) (Reported by Camille Raynaud and Sarah Morland; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Aditya Soni)