Turkey-based delivery platform Getir has announced it acquired its German rival Gorillas in a deal reported to be valued at USD 1.2 billion.
The deal will see the two companies merge to form a business valued at around USD 10 billion. Earlier in 2022, Getir completed a funding round, which had valued the company at around USD 12.
The deal price for Gorillas was significantly below the USD 2.1 billionn valuation it received in a 2021 funding round. It had tripled sales in 2021 but struggled to raise capital in 2022. The brand has already closed all its stores in Belgium, Italy, Spain, and England (with the exception of London).
The combined business will be competing with the likes of GoPuff in Europe, as well as larger delivery services such as Deliveroo, which also offer rapid grocery delivery.
Getir is also hoping to raise more funding in early 2023. The business’s acquisition of Gorillas is motivated by it wanting to get hold of the company’s ‘dark stores’, which are centres for fulfilment operations in cities. Authorities in places like Paris and Amsterdam are reluctant to grant permission for more of these sites to open.
Company officials stated that markets go up and down, but consumers love the service and convenience is here to stay. The fast grocery delivery industry will steadily grow for many years to come and Getir aims to lead this category it created 7 years ago.
Job losses are expected following the merger of the two companies as there is significant overlap between the infrastructure of the two delivery brands.
Gorillas also laid off hundreds of its employees and exited markets generating less revenue, like Italy and Belgium.
In March 2022, Getir has closed a USD 768 million funding round, reaching USD 11.8 billion valuation.
Behind the scenes, Getir has built networks of micro-fulfilment centres in dozens of urban areas. Those dark stores are operated by Getir and also controls and owns the inventory of products. The company has managed to attract 40 million app downloads across nine countries. Overall, it manages 1,100 dark stores.
The delivery service is most expanded in Turkey, currently operating in 81 cities. The company covers 48 cities for all other markets in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal, and the US. It competes with Gopuff, Flink, Gorillas, Zapp, Cajoo, and more. The startup also aims to make more consolidation moves down the road.
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