Grocery delivery app pioneer Getir is in talks to take over badly loss-making rival Gorillas, according to people familiar with the deal, as investor sentiment cools on one of the hottest tech trends. pandemic vogue.
Getir and Gorillas entered into exclusive negotiations in recent days and the start-ups intended to complete the acquisition by the end of next month, the sources said, although due diligence is still at a stage. early and the deal could still fall apart.
Shareholders of Berlin-based Gorillas would receive $100 million in cash as well as shares worth 12% of the combined entity, as part of a bailout deal that could value the company well. below the $2.1 billion price given to it by investors a year. from.
Getir and Gorillas declined to comment on the talks, which were first reported by Bloomberg.
The deal would combine two of the most important start-ups to grow across Europe over the past two years; each invested heavily in marketing and promotions to grow their brands and convince customers of a new way to shop for everyday essentials.
Istanbul-based Getir and Gorillas were among the first companies to promise to deliver a range of groceries and convenience products in as little as 10 minutes, from a network of small warehouses or “shops”. dark” scattered in a city.
But while these delivery apps have grown rapidly during the pandemic shutdowns, this has proven more difficult to sustain in 2022, especially as competition has emerged from existing food delivery apps such as Uber and Deliveroo, in addition to well-funded US player GoPuff arriving in Europe.
Getir’s valuation jumped to $11.8 billion in March when it raised nearly $800 million in new funds, even as share prices of publicly traded food delivery companies such as Deliveroo and Just Eat Takeaway.com were down. The round left Getir – which counts Sequoia Capital, Mubadala and Tiger Global among its investors – as one of the best-funded players in a market that was already starting to consolidate, despite fast-delivery applications in the United States and in Europe who have raised billions of dollars during 2021.
Gorillas was valued at $2.1 billion just over a year ago when Delivery Hero invested $235 million, joining existing investors including Tencent, Coatue and DST.
But as investor appetite dwindled this year for loss-making e-commerce start-ups, Gorillas frantically searched for a buyer before running out of funds.
The company had discussed with several companies the possibility of selling all or part of its business before talks of a full takeover became more serious with Getir earlier this month, people familiar with the matter said.
After raising over $1.3 billion to build a network of over 100 “dark stores” across Europe and the US, Gorillas has already been forced to shrink its footprint and remove hundreds of employees in recent months. Getir reduced its workforce by 14% in May.
Several smaller fast delivery apps have already been forced to sell or pivot their business models. Last year, Getir acquired British company Weezy while US company Gopuff bought Dija and Fancy and invested in German Flink. Gorillas acquired Frichti in France earlier this year.
Comments are closed.