Unsplash/Dan Gold
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Uber isn’t taking no for an answer. After failing to strike a deal to purchase Grubhub, the “technology” company (read: taxi company and delivery service) inked a deal for smaller food-delivery service competitor, Postmates. Uber paid $2.65B in an all-stock deal, surge pricing not included.
News broke that a deal might be in the works last week but it wasn’t a sure thing. Postmates was weighing potential offers from other suitors and possibly IPO’ing itself. Ultimately, it succumbed to the idea of Uber’s sweet, sweet shares and decided to be part of what will now be the second-largest restaurant-delivery service in the US, behind DoorDash.
Postmates brings with it valuable partnerships with Walgreens and 7-Eleven… which is great for everyone who wants roller dogs and their anti-depressants delivered at the same time.
All the way up
On-demand delivery has seen a huge boom while people have been quarantined. Apparently too busy honing in on their COD skills to go out to a store.
UberEats sales doubled from the same period last year and Postmates was up 50% in Q2 compared to Q1 this year. Even Grubhub is up 28% YoY.
Uber’s shares closed up 6% on Monday.
Cooler Commentary
But don’t let Uber’s purchase fool you, ride-sharing is still its main business (for now) and that division’s numbers are looking a lot like every other SoftBank investment’s numbers (spoiler: piss-poor).
Dara Khosrowshahi said things have bounced back slightly after Uber’s rides business dropped 75% in Q2 from a year earlier…to down 60%. Not exactly comforting but if Uber can highlight a small victory and not a larger loss investors, might not notice!
Water Cooler Talking Point(s)
💧 “One day Uber will turn a profit…one day.” (Ian, The Water Coolest HQ)
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