On-demand grocery delivery startup Gorillas is talking with competitors about the possibility of merging or being acquired as market demand and startup funds drop off post-pandemic, Bloomberg reported on Friday (June 17), citing unnamed sources with insider information.
Gorillas reportedly met with Gopuff, Jokr, and several other companies regarding a potential deal, the sources told Bloomberg. Some talks between Gorillas and the other delivery companies happened over the past few weeks.
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JPMorgan Chase & Co. is working with Gorillas to weigh options, some of the sources told Bloomberg. The discussions were exploratory and it’s possible no deal will be made.
Representatives for Jokr, JPMorgan, Gorillas and Gopuff declined to comment, according to the Bloomberg report.
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Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and co-founded in May 2020 by CEO Kağan Sumer and CTO Ronny Shibley, Gorillas said in February that it was hoping to raise a minimum of $700 million, PYMNTS reported.
Gorillas acquired the Paris delivery platform Frichti in January, giving the combined company a 17.1% market share — the second-largest — of the food delivery space in Paris.
A few months later in May, Gorillas cut 300 employees, essentially cutting its workforce in half. CEO Sumer told Reuters that the company has not yet turned a profit. Before the company goes public, it wants to achieve profitability, Sumer said.
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Gorillas can sometimes spend $80 million a month, two sources with insider information told Bloomberg.
The company is ditching plans right now to build out its presence in New York City, the sources said. Gorillas has also pulled the plug on a previously planned expansion to Los Angeles and Chicago.
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