Uber Technologies Inc.’s board of directors has approved a $2.65 billion acquisition of food delivery rival Postmates Inc. in an all-stock deal, expected to be announced as soon as Monday morning in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.
Uber’s head of food delivery, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, is expected to continue to run Uber’s combined delivery business, according to a person who asked not to be identified discussing a private deal. The acquisition comes on the heels of Uber’s failed bid to acquire publicly traded GrubHub Inc., which was scooped up by Europe’s Just Eat Takeaway for $7.3 billion.
Representatives for Uber and Postmates declined to comment.
The deal would help Uber gain ground against privately-held DoorDash, which is the market leader in U.S. food delivery. While Postmates hasn’t kept apace with DoorDash, it established a strong position in Los Angeles and the American Southwest, both of which could be valuable to Uber Eats.