Uber has announced that it will be acquiring a grocery delivery startup, Cornershop. The company made it known that it is expecting its acquisition of a majority ownership stake in Cornershop in early 2020, once it receives all the necessary regulatory sign-offs.
According to Uber, the company will continue to operate under its current leadership but will report to a board that has Uber leadership in majority.
Cornershop was previously supposed to be acquired by Walmart in a deal which was disclosed in September, valued at $225 million. However, the deal fell apart due to some Mexican anti-trust regulators that blocked it from happening.
This hasn’t stopped the Walmart/Cornershop relationship as they continue to work together as Cornershop expands its services to Toronto.
Prior to this development, Uber has experimented with grocery delivery, including partnership with Walmart. The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Dara Khosrowshahi was quoted to have said that grocery delivery is a natural place for the company to expand its business, given the success of Uber Eats, (Uber’s food ordering and delivery platform).
Meanwhile, the acquisition deal is still subject to regulatory approval as it is still in its early stage. Although, Uber has not disclosed the details fully it is arguable that the company is trying hard for the deal to pull through and not face the same stumbling block Walmart faced.
What you should know: Cornershop is a grocery delivery startup that began in the Latin American market before shifting to offer services in Toronto, its first North American city. The on-demand grocery company which is headquartered in Chile,South America was founded in 2015 by Oskar Hjertonsson, Daniel Undurraga and Juan Pablo Cuevas.
The platform allows shoppers to find and buy groceries online from different supermarkets and specialty stores and have them delivered straight to their homes. Cornershop raised $31.7 million from investors including Accel, Jackson Square Ventures and others over the course of four rounds of funding.
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