Deliveroo CEO Will Shu is set to receive a £170m payout after his company struck a deal to be scooped up by US rival DoorDash for £2.9bn, rounding off a choppy few years since an ill-fated public listing in 2021.
Founded in 2013 by childhood friends Will Shu and Greg Orlowski, the company quickly became one of the best-known startups in the UK. Since floating on the London Stock Exchange for a valuation of £7.6bn, however, the company has seen its share price plummet, laid off staff and retreated from a number of international markets.
Deliveroo shareholders will receive 180p in cash per share, DoorDash said in a statement — up slightly on the trading price of 176p on Tuesday.
But it’s a big drop from the 390p price Deliveroo opened with in 2021 — which briefly valued Shu’s stake at more than £600m — before it fell 26% on its first day of trading.
The company had seen losses widen to more than £30m in 2024, but regained some ground when it reported its first full-year profit last month.
DoorDash said the terms of the acquisition imply an enterprise value of Deliveroo of approximately £2.4bn.
Deliveroo is active in nine countries — Belgium, France, Italy, Ireland, Kuwait, Qatar, Singapore, United Arab Emirates as well as the UK — all of which will be new markets for DoorDash.
DoorDash previously acquired Finnish delivery app Wolt in 2021 in a €7bn all-stock deal, and currently operates in more than 30 markets.
The deal comes months on from Dutch investment group Prosus announcing plans to acquire Just Eat Takeaway, in a €4.1bn deal that will see the food delivery giant delist from public markets in Amsterdam.
“DoorDash and Deliveroo are like-minded organisations with a shared strategic vision and aligned values,” said Shu in a statement.
“Together, we will be even better positioned to serve consumers, merchants, riders and local communities. The enlarged group will have the scale to invest in product, technology and the overall consumer value proposition.”
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