Food delivery major Deliveroo has agreed a takeover deal with its US rival DoorDash in a deal valued at around €3.4 billion.
San Francisco-based DoorDash will offer 180 pence a share in cash for London Stock Exchange-listed Deliveroo, a move aimed at creating a combined entity spanning 40 countries with annual bookings of about $90 billion (€80 billion).
The companies said: “The merger with Deliveroo will strengthen DoorDash’s position as the world’s leading local commerce platform, enabling the combined company to more effectively serve businesses, customers and riders.”
Deliveroo was founded in 2013 by CEO Will Shu and operates in nine countries, partnering with more than 130,000 couriers worldwide.
In 2024, its sales volume amounted to approximately 2.3 billion euros.
Mr Shu is reportedly set to receive a windfall of €200 million from his 6.5 per cent stake in Deliveroo, while employees, who collectively own around 36 million shares, are likely to receive a total of €76 million.
Mr. Shu said: “We are beginning a new transformative chapter.
“DoorDash and Deliveroo are like-minded companies with a shared strategic approach and similar values.
“Together, we can better serve customers, businesses, couriers and local communities.
“The expanded group will be able to invest in product, technology and the overall consumer proposition.”
DoorDash was also founded in 2013 and has been led by CEO Tony Xu since its inception.
The company operates in more than 30 countries and fulfills over 2.5 billion orders per year, which has helped its revenue grow to $10.7 billion in 2024.
The service does not operate in countries where Deliveroo operates.
Mr Xu said: “I couldn’t be more excited about the prospects of what DoorDash and Deliveroo can achieve together.
“We will cover more than 40 countries with a total population of over a billion people, which will give more local businesses the opportunity to get the necessary tools and technologies for successful development.”
The deal is expected to close in the last three months of 2025, but is subject to approval by Deliveroo shareholders.
The revelation comes after Deliveroo confirmed late last month that it had received a “preliminary proposal” from US takeaway app company DoorDash on April 5.
The deal, offered at 180p per share, represents a 44 percent premium to Deliveroo's closing share price on April 4, before DoorDash made its offer.
The deal's valuation had previously been described as “not particularly outstanding”, but it has been a tough time for Deliveroo since it floated on the London Stock Exchange four years ago, valuing its shares at £7.6 billion (€8.9 billion) and seeing their value fall significantly.
The companies said the combined entity would be able to “more effectively allocate resources to enhance competitive advantages.”
DoorDash is expected to begin a six- to 12-month study of the combined group after the deal closes.
The company noted that it is too early to talk about the specific changes that will be implemented, but it expects a potential reduction in headcount of approximately 1 to 3 percent, primarily in general administrative and support positions.
“It is expected that steps will be taken to minimise the need for redundancies through autonomous growth of the new group, natural attrition of headcount and slowing or pausing individual recruitment plans, and redundancies at Deliveroo are not expected to be significant,” they added.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
