DoorDash Buys British Rival Deliveroo
DoorDash is fetching another business. The commerce platform announced that it is acquiring the U.K.-based online food delivery company, Deliveroo.
The $3.86 billion deal greatly widens DoorDash’s international presence, including markets where competitor Uber Eats has become a popular service. The agreement also helps Deliveroo at a key time, as that company serves customers in nine markets amid shifting post-pandemic habits.
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According to DoorDash, the combined group will have a global presence in over 40 countries, serving approximately 50 million monthly active users. In 2024, the two companies together generated a total gross order value of approximately $90 billion.
Leaders of both organizations weighed in on the benefits of the combined businesses. “We started the company in 2013 to help people like my mom – people running local businesses and creating the vast majority of jobs and economic activity in our communities. Our focus ever since has been on building the best products and services to enable these merchants to grow, connecting them with consumers in their neighborhoods, and creating a local commerce platform that offers uniquely flexible earnings opportunities,” said Tony Xu, CEO and co-founder of DoorDash. “Coming together with teams that have similar visions and values accelerates our work to achieve that mission. Deliveroo is just such a team and one that I have long admired. Like DoorDash, Deliveroo is obsessively focused on their customers – consumers, merchants, and riders.”
He continued, “I could not be more excited by the prospect of what DoorDash and Deliveroo will be able to accomplish together. We’ll cover more than 40 countries with a combined population of more than 1 billion people, enabling us to provide more local businesses with the tools and technology they need to thrive.”
Deliveroo’s board unanimously voted to recommend the offer, and CEO and co-founder Will Shu agreed that the path forward is a joint one. “When Greg and I founded this business in 2013, we made it our mission to bring the best of our consumers’ neighborhoods to their door. We’ve stayed relentlessly focused on this mission for the past 12 years, keeping our consumers at the heart of everything we do and aiming to deliver them flawless experiences, new innovations and real value,” Shu remarked, adding, “We are now at the beginning of a transformative new chapter. DoorDash and Deliveroo are like-minded organizations with a shared strategic vision and aligned values. Together, we will be even better positioned to serve consumers, merchants, riders and local communities.”
In other news, DoorDash also shared that it is acquiring hospitality tech firm SevenRooms. Per DoorDash, the deal will expand its commerce platform capabilities. DoorDash is making these deals at a time of growth: according to its first quarter earnings report released on May 6, the company enjoyed 21% jump in year-over-year (YoY) revenue during Q1.
Q1 proved a solid quarter by other metrics, too. The company reported that it generated new quarterly records for orders, which were up 18% YoY. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $590 million from $371 million during the first quarter of 2024.
Groceries helped fuel this success, with more consumers ordering groceries from the platform than ever before. "We are excited by this progress, but continue to believe creating a grocery experience that exceeds the in-store experience requires significant further innovation and improvements in execution," DoorDash shared in the financial report.
Founded in 2013, DoorDash is a global platform dedicated to keeping commerce thriving in the communities where it operates. Today, the company serves over 42 million monthly active users in over 30 countries. Also founded in 2013, London-based Deliveroo works with approximately 176,000 restaurants, grocers and retail partners, as well as over 130,000 riders, to serve approximately 7 million monthly active consumers.
