Contxto – Uber has been looking to acquire startups lately. It’s still awaiting regulatory approval in Mexico to buy Chilean-Mexican grocery delivery startup, Cornershop. More recently it announced it’s buying San Francisco’s Postmates. But it’s not alone in this shopping spree.
Sources at Bloomberg reported on Tuesday (14) that German Delivery Hero may still have a hankering for startups, possibly even Rappi or Glovo.
“We are no longer in a position where we feel we have to do M&A, and we’d rather invest in our business,” said Niklas Ostberg, co-Founder and CEO at Delivery Hero. “But of course, if good opportunities come up, then we won’t hesitate to make them.”
The company said it’s in constant contact with other platforms including Rappi about closing possible deals.
Note that it’s a shareholder for both the Colombian startup and Glovo. In Rappi’s case, it pitched funds for a 2018 round.
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Food delivery heats up
There are some very local contenders in Latam’s food delivery showdown. Examples include Hugo in Central America and PedidosYa in Uruguay. However, at a larger scale, it’s platforms like Uber Eats, Didi Food, and Rappi that tend to dominate.
But within this contest, there may be a dark horse in the run: German Delivery Hero.
In April of this year, Domicilios.com—a platform owned by Delivery Hero—partnered with iFood to combine its operations in Colombia, Rappi’s turf.
- Related article: Last-mile unicorns, iFood and Rappi, in final face off in Colombia
However, eyebrows were raised last week when Delivery Hero announced it would sell €1.5 billion (~US$1.7 billion) in convertible bonds.
According to the company, these funds would be used for “general corporate purposes and to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities that may arise.”
The Berlin-based company had previously raised funding through sales of convertible bonds and shares in January. At the time, it clarified that the money would serve to complete its acquisition of South Korean delivery platform, Woowa.
Although now the wording is on the vague side.
But hey, if a juicy acquisition does come up, it is better to have the cash on hand.
Related articles: Tech and startups from Colombia!
-ML
