Uber to acquire on-demand alcohol marketplace Drizly for $1.1bn

Uber Technologies has agreed to acquire US-based on-demand alcohol marketplace Drizly in a stock-cum-cash deal worth around $1.1 billion.

Drizly operates in 1,400 plus cities across a majority of states in the US.

By working with thousands of local merchants, the alcohol delivery service is claimed to offer consumers a selection of beer, wine, and spirits with competitive, transparent pricing.

Upon closing of the deal, Drizly will become a fully-owned subsidiary of Uber Technologies.

Drizly’s marketplace will be integrated eventually with the Uber Eats app, while also keeping a separate Drizly app.

Cory Rellas – Drizly co-founder and CEO, commenting on Uber acquisition of Drizly, said: “Drizly has spent the last 8 years building the infrastructure, technology, and partnerships to bring the consumer a shopping experience they deserve. 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.

“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.”

The on-demand alcohol marketplace will look to independently innovate and expand in its fast-growing and competitive sector, while also getting access to the advanced mobile marketplace technologies of Uber’s food delivery and ridesharing platform.

According to Uber, merchants on Drizly will get to benefit from its routing technology and consumer base. On the other hand, Drizly’s delivery drivers will get even more ways for earning.

For consumers on Drizly, the rewards and subscription programs from Uber is expected to give them even greater value to consumers with new perks and benefits.

Commenting on commenting on Uber acquisition of Drizly, Dara Khosrowshahi – Uber CEO said: “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. 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.”

Uber acquisition of Drizly, which is subject to receipt of regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, is anticipated to be wrapped up within the first half of this year.