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On February 2, Uber, the ride-hailing service which also offers food, package and freight services, announced that it has agreed to acquire Boston-based alcohol delivery service Drizly, a 1.1 billion deal.
Founded in 2012, Drizly, which has been dubbed the ‘Amazon of Liquor’, allows users to compare the price of drinks in shops in their local neighborhood and order alcohol on-demand through its website and app.
The cash and stock deal gives Uber access to Drizly’s, extensive network which operates in over 1,400 cities across the majority of US states and the province of Alberta in Canada
After the completion of the transaction, Drizly will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber. And Drizly’s marketplace will eventually be integrated with the Uber Eats app, while also maintaining a separate Drizly app.
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Drizly’s cannabis delivery company Lantern, which currently serves Boston and Detroit, will not be included in the deal, Uber told Reuters. However, in an interview with CNBC, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi did not rule out the possibility of acquiring it in the future.
“Cory and his amazing team have built Drizly into an incredible success story, profitably growing gross bookings more than 300 percent year-over-year.” Khosrowshahi added.
“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.”
And Uber’s newly enriched co-founder and CEO, Cory Rellas seemed equally enthusiastic about the deal…
“Drizly has spent the last eight years building the infrastructure, technology, and partnerships to bring the consumer a shopping experience they deserve. 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.”
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to complete in the first half of 2021.
