SAN FRANCISCO, California –Uber announced Tuesday it is acquiring alcohol delivery service Drizly for $1.1 billion in stock and cash.
“During this time our delivery business as been growing at extraordinary rates,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC on Tuesday. Drizly said it had more than 300% growth in the past year.
Upon final completion of the transaction, Drizly’s marketplace will be integrated with the Uber Eats app. The company will keep the standalone Drizly app as well, it said.
Drizly was founded by Nick Rellas, Justin Robinson, and Spencer Frazier in 2012. The company launched its service in the greater Boston area in 2013, then expanded to New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Drizly, which currently employs about 85 people in its Boston, New York, and Denver offices, is available in many U.S. Markets, and as of February 2016, has expanded to Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, Canada through a partnership with Liquor Stores N.A. (LSNA).
The deal is expected to close within the first half of 2021. Uber said that it anticipates that more than 90% of the consideration to be paid to Drizly shareholders will consist of shares of Uber common stock, and the balance will be paid in cash.
Uber stock was up more than 8% in the morning.
Reported by Andrew Mitchell for Woodlawn Post Technology
