5 hours ago
7
Food delivery company Deliveroo has agreed a £2.9bn takeover by US rival DoorDash that will result in a £65m payday for its staff.
The London-based delivery company, which was founded in 2013 by Will Shu and Greg Orlowski, received an offer worth 180p a share last month and on Tuesday its board recommended the deal to shareholders.
Shu is in line for a £172m payout from his 6.4% shareholding in the business. He said: “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.”
Shu, a former investment banker who came up with the idea for the app because of the lack of late-night food options while he was working long hours, set up Deliveroo in 2013 with Orlowski, a childhood friend. He made deliveries by scooter for the service in its early months.
The takeover values Deliveroo at less than the value at which it floated on the London stock market four years ago.
The firm works with 176,000 restaurants, grocers and retailers, and has more than 130,000 riders serving 7 million active consumers a month last year. It made its first annual pre-tax profit in 2024, of £12m, with revenues of £2.1bn. DoorDash is the biggest food delivery app in the US.
The UK company thrived during the Covid-19 pandemic when restaurants were shuttered during lockdowns, leading to a boom in meal deliveries, but demand has declined since pandemic restrictions were lifted.
after newsletter promotion
Deliveroo listed in 2021 at 390p a share, but flopped on the first day of trading in a 26% share slump that earned it the nickname “flopperoo”.
