US DoorDash Acquires Finnish Food Delivery Company...Shares Surge 20% in After-Hours Trading

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] DoorDash, the largest food delivery company in the United States, is acquiring Finnish food delivery company Wolt Enterprises OY (Wolt) for 7 billion euros (approximately 9.579 trillion KRW).

According to major foreign media on the 9th (local time), DoorDash announced that it will acquire Wolt through a stock transaction. The plan is to complete the acquisition process by the first half of next year.

DoorDash stated that once the acquisition is completed, Mikko Kuisma, CEO of Wolt, will be responsible for DoorDash's international business.

DoorDash entered the Japanese market in June, following Canada and Australia, and this acquisition will enable it to expand its business into Europe.

DoorDash's stock price surged nearly 20% during after-hours trading, at one point rising more than 22%, fueled by the news of the Wolt acquisition.

Wolt started its delivery business in Helsinki in 2015 and currently operates in 23 countries across Europe and Asia.

Previously, Denmark's Just Eat Takeaway entered the U.S. market by acquiring Grubhub, and Uber acquired Postmates, a competitor of its subsidiary Uber Eats, last year for $2.65 billion.

Major foreign media reported that the food delivery industry, which grew rapidly due to the sharp decline in dining out caused by COVID-19, is actively pursuing mergers and acquisitions in preparation for a slowdown in growth after the pandemic.

Meanwhile, DoorDash announced that in the third quarter, it posted revenue of $1.28 billion, a 45% increase compared to the same period last year, but recorded a loss of 30 cents per share.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.