Uber Buys Food-Delivery Service Postmates For Over $2.6 Billion In Stock

Rideshare giant Uber said Monday it has purchased food-delivery service Postmates for more than $2.6 billion in stock.

“Uber and Postmates have long shared a belief that platforms like ours can power much more than just food delivery -- they can be a hugely important part of local commerce and communities, all the more important during crises like COVID-19,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a press release. “As more people and more restaurants have come to use our services, Q2 bookings on Uber Eats are up more than 100 percent year on year. We’re thrilled to welcome Postmates to the Uber family as we innovate together to deliver better experiences for consumers, delivery people and merchants across the country.”

Uber made a run at buying GrubHub in June as it looked to secure a stronger hold in the food-delivery service space. CNBC reported talks breaking down over the sale price, with Uber saying it was part of a perceived “stalling tactic” by GrubHub.

European food-delivery service JustEatTakeaway ultimately bought GrubHub later in the month.

Khosrowshahi said Uber will continue to operate Postmates as a separate service from its existing food-delivery service, Uber Eats. He cited Postmates relationships with “small- and medium-sized restaurants, particularly local favorites” as the backbone of Postmates, which will allow Uber to cover more ground in food-delivery both financially and geographically. However, Uber’s own merchant network would be used in the Postmates app to help it run more “efficiently.”

Postmates co-founder and CEO Bastian Lehmann discussed the deal.

“Over the past eight years we have been focused on a single mission: enable anyone to have anything delivered to them on-demand,” Lehmann said in a press release. “Joining forces with Uber will continue that mission as we continue to build Postmates while creating an even stronger platform that brings this mission to life for our customers. Uber and Postmates have been strong allies working together to advocate and create the best practices across our industry, especially for our couriers. Together we can ensure that as our industry continues to grow, it will do so for the benefit of everyone in the communities we serve.”