Mexican Regulator Gives Go-Ahead For Uber’s Cornershop Acquisition

Mexico’s antitrust regulator Cofece has approved the acquisition of grocery delivery platform Cornershop by Uber Technologies, Bloomberg reported on Monday (Dec. 14).

Restaurant food delivery has been Uber’s revenue driver for two consecutive quarters as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people shop, learn and work. Uber is aiming for further expansion into the delivery of groceries and pharmaceuticals.

Terms haven’t been disclosed, but when the deal was first being discussed last year, it was expected that Uber would pay $450 million for a 51 percent stake in Cornershop.

Headquartered in Santiago, Chile, Cornershop is a digital supermarket startup facilitating grocery delivery in Chile, Mexico, Peru and Toronto. Uber started expanding its partnership with Cornershop in July, with some locations in Latin America, U.S. and Canada operating under Uber’s app.

Last year, Uber said in a press release that it was looking to acquire Cornershop, which was co-founded by Oskar Hjertonsson, Daniel Undurraga and Juan Pablo Cuevas in 2015. It was expected that Cornershop would continue operations with its current leadership and report to a board with majority Uber representation. Hjertonsson said in July that “Uber is the perfect partner” to help them expand on-demand grocery delivery “across the Americas.”

Uber announced in June that it was finalizing a $2.6 billion acquisition of food delivery startup Postmates after the deal was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice. The acquisition would give Uber Eats an estimated 37 percent market share, up from a current 29 percent. Uber had tried to acquire delivery firm Grubhub, but talks fell apart amid antitrust discussions.

In July, Instacart filed a lawsuit against Cornershop alleging copyright infringement. Instacart said that its catalog images were used by Cornershop when it opened in the U.S.

Cornorshop first rolled out in the U.S. under Uber’s ownership in Dallas, Texas and Miami, Florida. Uber has said there was no wrongdoing.