Dive Brief:
- DoorDash has made a tentative offer to buy Deliveroo, a U.K.-based, third-party delivery aggregator, for 180 pence a share or a total of about $3.6 billion at current exchange rates, according to documents filed by Deliveroo with U.K. regulators.
- The prospective purchase would bring DoorDash into the U.K., Ireland, France and Italy without needing to fight established players for market share.
- Deliveroo indicated in its filing that it was inclined to accept DoorDash’s offer. In connection with this offer, Deliveroo suspended a share buyback program.
Dive Insight:
If DoorDash buys Deliveroo, it would be one of the first major acquisitions by a restaurant-related company this year. Deliveroo had about $2.8 billion in revenue in 2024 when measured at current exchange rates, according to its annual report.
DoorDash would then be able to apply the strategies that secured it a dominant position in the U.S. restaurant delivery market to a wide range of new geographies. About 60% of Deliveroo’s business is located in the U.K. and Ireland, with the remainder in continental Europe, the Middle East and Singapore, according to its annual report.
In late 2021, DoorDash purchased Wolt in a roughly $8 billion deal that brought a variety of markets ranging from major economies (Germany, Japan) to the European periphery (Malta, North Macedonia) into DoorDash’s sphere of influence.
International acquisitions of delivery aggregators have a mixed record. European delivery company Just Eat Takeaway tried to leverage its $7 billion acquisition of Grubhub into a strong position in the U.S. delivery market, but ultimately sold the platform to Wonder for less than 10% of its initial purchase price in late 2024.
