SAN FRANCISCO – Uber agreed to acquire Food Delivery Startmates Postmates for $ 2.65 billion, two people with knowledge of the deal said, as the transportation company aims to increase its presence in on-demand food delivery while his main business struggles.
The companies plan to announce the agreement of all the actions on Monday, said the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were confidential.
Uber is expected to combine Postmates with its own food delivery subsidiary, Uber Eats, which has been growing during the coronavirus pandemic. Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber’s head of food delivery, will lead the services once the deal is closed, the people added.
An Uber spokesperson declined to comment Sunday night, and a Postmates spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bloomberg previously reported on the details of the deal.
Food delivery apps, connecting drivers, restaurants and customers, have grown rapidly in recent years, fueled by venture capital and armies of contract workers. But the services they offer are not very different from each other, creating strong competition and pressure to keep rates low. While more people have been using delivery services during the pandemic, the gains have been elusive.
As a result, delivery application companies have surrounded themselves with each other, with the goal of making deals to gain scale. Postmates previously discussed possible deals with DoorDash, the largest service in the United States, and another rival, GrubHub, according to two people with knowledge of the talks.
In recent months, Uber has also discussed the purchase of GrubHub. But last month, GrubHub was sold to Just Eat Takeaway, a European delivery company, for $ 7.3 billion.
Together, Postmates and Uber Eats would have a 37 percent share of food delivery sales in the United States, according to Edison Trends, which tracks spending with credit cards. DoorDash would remain the largest player at 45 percent, while GrubHub would be 17 percent.
Uber is looking for growth as more people stay home during the pandemic and its core passenger transportation business has struggled. In May, Uber recorded a loss of $ 2.9 billion during the first three months of the year and announced that it would lay off 14 percent of its workforce. But its Uber Eats division revenue increased 53 percent.
Postmates, last valued by investors at $ 2.4 billion, is smaller than the other players. Founded in 2011, it was one of the first startups to use part-time “job workers” to deliver what they wanted to customers at the touch of a smartphone button.
Postmates has raised more than $ 900 million in funds, according to PitchBook, from investors like Spark Capital and Tiger Global Management. He had turned up to go public.
