Waitr to acquire online restaurant food delivery service Bite Squad

Waitr acquisition of Bite Squad : Waitr, an online ordering and on-demand food delivery company, has agreed to acquire online restaurant food delivery service Bite Squad in a cash-cum-stock deal worth around $321 million.

Minneapolis based Bite Squad, which was founded in 2012, operates a three-sided marketplace. It is said to be in line with Waitr’s business model, which links over 11,000 active restaurants with nearly 6,300 W-2 drivers and about 889,000 active diners.

Commenting on Waitr acquisition of Bite Squad, Chris Meaux – founder and CEO of Waitr, said: “We have followed Bite Squad’s growth and success for many years and believe their mission, business model and growth profile share many similarities to Waitr.

“We believe that a small fraction of the U.S. restaurant industry’s sales are from off-premise online transactions and this is evolving rapidly. This acquisition will help us drive additional growth and provide a step function increase in scale throughout the U.S. in order to better serve that developing market.”

Waitr acquisition of Bite Squad. Image courtesy of adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Bite Squad is a fast growing business with 85% year-over-year gross food sales growth and 98% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 2018.

Waitr acquisition of Bite Squad will expand the latter’s scale and presence in the US to serve more than 86 markets in 500 plus cities and 22 states. The purchase price for Bite Squad comprises nearly $202.1 million in cash and 10.6 million shares of the common stock of Waitr.

Kian Salehi – co-founder and CEO of Bite Squad, commenting on Waitr acquisition of Bite Squad, said: “We are thrilled to join forces with the Waitr team.

“I believe Chris and his team share our vision for providing hungry diners with a convenient and fast way to enjoy great food from the best local restaurants and chains.”

Waitr acquisition of Bite Squad is anticipated to be completed by the end of this month.