Deliveroo has agreed to a £2.9bn takeover by its US rival DoorDash, a deal that will see staff receive nearly £66m and co-founder Will Shu pocket £172m. The London-based food delivery company's board recommended the 180p-per-share offer to shareholders on Tuesday.
Former and current employees own 36.5m shares, worth £65.7m. Shu, who holds a 6.4% stake, said the deal marks a 'transformative new chapter' and noted shared values between the two firms. The takeover values Deliveroo at less than half its 2021 flotation price of 390p per share.
The combined company will operate in 40 countries. However, job losses of between 1% and 3% of the 27,700-strong workforce (up to 830 roles) are expected, mainly in administration and support. DoorDash aims to limit redundancies through natural attrition and hiring freezes.
DoorDash, the largest US food delivery app, was also founded in 2013 and has 23,700 employees. It will honour Deliveroo's partnership with the GMB union and not materially change rider contracts. Deliveroo employs about 4,000 people and operates in nine countries, including the UK, Qatar and Singapore.
Deliveroo made its first annual pre-tax profit of £12m in 2024 on revenues of £2.1bn. The deal comes as DoorDash also announced the $1.2bn acquisition of restaurant booking platform SevenRooms.
