Deliveroo consents £2.9bn takeover by means of US rival DoorDash

Food supply corporate Deliveroo has agreed a £2.9bn takeover by means of its US rival DoorDash that can lead to a near-£66m payday for its workforce.

The London-based supply corporate, which used to be based in 2013 by means of Will Shu and Greg Orlowski, won an be offering value 180p a proportion ultimate month and on Tuesday its board advisable the deal to shareholders.

Former and present Deliveroo workforce personal 36.5m stocks within the industry between them, which might imply a £65.7m payout if the deal is going forward.

Shu is in line for a £172m payout from his 6.4% shareholding within the industry. He mentioned: “We are now at the beginning of a transformative new chapter. DoorDash and Deliveroo are like-minded organisations with a shared strategic vision and aligned values.”

The takeover values Deliveroo, which employs about 4,000 folks, at lower than part the worth at which it floated at the London Stock Exchange 4 years in the past. Together, the 2 corporations will quilt 40 nations.

The deal may lead to activity losses identical to between 1% and 3% of the blended personnel of 27,700, affecting as much as 830 folks, principally in management and industry make stronger roles.

DoorDash mentioned it could intention to restrict redundancies and make any cuts by means of now not changing individuals who go away, and pausing or slowing hiring. A small selection of headquarters and make stronger jobs associated with Deliveroo’s standing as a publicly indexed corporate may also move. Its headquarters is anticipated to stick in London.

DoorDash is the largest meals supply app in america, and used to be additionally based in 2013. The San Francisco-based corporate has 23,700 staff, and greater than 1 million riders who ship meals in 30 nations, in addition to greater than 42 million energetic customers of its app.

DoorDash mentioned it could abide by means of the voluntary partnership settlement between Deliveroo and the GMB union, and does now not plan to make any subject material adjustments to contracts with riders.

Tony Xu, the manager govt and co-founder of DoorDash, mentioned he had “long admired” Deliveroo’s staff. “Like DoorDash, Deliveroo is obsessively focused on their customers – consumers, merchants and riders,” he added.

Shu, a former funding banker who got here up with the speculation for the app as a result of the loss of late-night meals choices whilst he used to be running lengthy hours, arrange Deliveroo with Orlowski, a early life pal. He made deliveries by means of scooter for the provider in its early months.

Deliveroo works with 176,000 eating places, grocers and shops, and has greater than 130,000 riders serving 7 million energetic shoppers a month ultimate yr. It operates in 9 nations – Belgium, France, Italy, Ireland, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Deliveroo made its first annual pre-tax benefit in 2024, of £12m, with revenues of £2.1bn.

The UK corporate thrived right through the Covid-19 pandemic when eating places had been shuttered right through lockdowns, resulting in a growth in meal deliveries, however call for has declined since pandemic restrictions had been lifted.

Deliveroo indexed in 2021 at 390p a proportion, however flopped at the first day of buying and selling in a 26% proportion stoop that earned it the nickname “flopperoo”.