Ride-sharing tech behemoth Uber Technologies has struck a deal to acquire on-demand alcohol delivery marketplace Drizly for $1.1 billion in stock and cash, the companies announced today.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2021, pending regulatory approval. After its completion, Drizly will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber. Drizly’s app will remain independent, and its services will also be integrated into the Uber Eats app, which offers on-demand restaurant delivery.
More than 90% of the payment to Drizly shareholders will consist of Uber common stock, according to the release. The rest will be paid in cash.
Since public health measures first enacted in March 2020 to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic forced Americans to stay home, trial of Drizly has skyrocketed with sales increasing 350% year-over-year, according to the Boston-headquartered e-commerce platform.
“Wherever you want to go and whatever you need to get, our goal at Uber is to make people’s lives a little bit easier,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in the release. “That’s why we’ve been branching into new categories like groceries, prescriptions and, now, alcohol. Cory and his amazing team have built Drizly into an incredible success story, profitably growing gross bookings more than 300 percent year-over-year.
“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,” he continued.
Drizly was founded in 2012 by CEO Cory Rellas and co-founder Justin Robinson. The company now operates in more than 1,400 cities in the U.S. and Canada, where its platform connects consumers to retailers who offer home delivery of beer, wine, spirits and mixers.
“It’s a proud day for the Drizly team as we recognize what we’ve accomplished to date but also with the humility that much remains to be done to fulfill our vision,” Rellas said in the release. “With this in mind, 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.”
In August, Drizly announced the close of a $50 million Series C funding round, which was led by New York-based investment firm Avenir, with participation from previous investors, including Tiger Global Management. The round increased Drizly’s investment capital to a total of $120 million across four raises, which include early investment from private equity firm First Beverage Group, Polaris Partners, and Suffolk Equity Partners, among others.
At the time, Drizly had hired 75 additional employees, which brought its total headcount to 220 employees across offices in Boston, New York City and Denver.
Drizly offers home delivery of alcohol in under an hour in 27 states and the province of Alberta, Canada. Lantern, its sister platform for cannabis delivery, is available in Michigan, Massachusetts and Colorado.