Europe: DoorDash swallows Wolt in 7 billion Euro deal

On-demand delivery giant DoorDash announced yesterday it was acquiring European rival Wolt in an all-stock deal valued at EUR 7 billion (USD 8.1bn). Finland-based Wolt was founded in 2014 and has since expanded its delivery service for restaurants, stores and businesses to customers in 23 countries mainly in Europe.

The acquisition accelerates the expected consolidation in the food delivery market. Less than half a year ago, Uber Eats strengthened its position in the U.S. market for online food ordering and delivery by acquiring the number four in the market, Postmates in a USD 2.65 billion all-stock takeover. (inside.beer, 6.7.2020)

Tony Xu, Co-founder and CEO of DoorDash said in a statement that “by joining forces, we believe we will accelerate our product development, bring greater focus to each of our markets, and improve the value we provide to consumers, merchants, as well as Dashers and couriers around the world.”

“We have an opportunity to build a global platform for local commerce in the internet era,” he said. “Joining forces with Wolt will deepen our pool of superb talent and allow us to accelerate our international growth, while elevating our focus on the U.S. We expect the ingenuity, product expertise, and operational excellence of our combined company to expand our TAM, improve our investment efficiency, increase our long-term profit potential, and generate significant shareholder value.”

“Under the leadership of Miki Kuusi, Wolt has built a culture of optimism, operational rigor, and bias for action that matches our own,” he added.

Miki Kuusi, Wolt Co-Founder and CEO who, upon the deal closing, will run DoorDash International and report to Xu said that “DoorDash has built an incredible business in one of the most significant markets in the world, while we came from a small home country and had to master the art of expansion very early on. During this process, we’ve come to appreciate the many similarities of our two teams, cultures and companies, as we’ve been molded by similar circumstances. We’re incredibly excited to be joining forces with Tony and the DoorDash team to build something even greater together.”

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions for transactions of this type, including applicable regulatory approvals and is expected to close the transaction in first half of 2022.

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