Uber announced on Tuesday that it is buying alcohol delivery service Drizly for $1.1 billion (R16.5 billion) in stock and cash.
The US-based on-demand alcohol marketplace is available in more than 1,400 cities across US states.
Drizly works with thousands of local merchants to provide consumers with an incredible selection of beer, wine, and spirits with competitive, transparent pricing.
After the completion of the transaction, Drizly will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber. The marketplace of Drizly will eventually be integrated with the Uber Eats app while maintaining a separate Drizly app.
“Drizly has spent the last 8 years building the infrastructure, technology, and partnerships to bring the consumer a shopping experience they deserve. It’s a proud day for the Drizly team as we recognize what we’ve accomplished to date but also with the humility that much remains to be done to fulfill our vision,” Drizly co-founder and CEO Cory Rellas, said in a statement.
“With this in mind, we are thrilled to join a world-class Uber team whose platform will accelerate Drizly on its mission to be there when it matters—committed to life’s moments and the people who create them.”
Drizly plans to innovate and expand independently in its fast-growing and competitive sector, while also gaining access to the advanced mobile marketplace technologies of the world’s largest food delivery and ridesharing platform.
Merchants on Drizly will be able to benefit from Uber’s best-in-class routing technology and significant consumer base.
“Wherever you want to go, and whatever you need to get, our goal at Uber is to make people’s lives a little bit easier. That’s why we’ve been branching into new categories like groceries, prescriptions and, now, alcohol,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, said in a statement.
“Cory and his amazing team have built Drizly into an incredible success story, profitably growing gross bookings more than 300% year-over-year. By bringing Drizly into the Uber family, we can accelerate that trajectory by exposing Drizly to the Uber audience and expanding its geographic presence into our global footprint in the years ahead.”
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions and expected to close within the first half of 2021.