London’s Deliveroo To Announce IPO Plans March 8

London-based food-delivery service Deliveroo could begin the process of floating shares for public purchase as early as March 8, Sky News reported Monday (Feb. 15), citing unnamed sources.

Deliveroo’s market capitalization could hit $10.4 billion, Sky News reported. A half-dozen investment banks, led by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, have been hired by the company.

Deliveroo was founded in London in 2013 by Will Shu, who remains chief executive.

The company states on its website: “By offering fast and reliable delivery which the customer can track on their phone, Deliveroo has seen revenue growth of over 650% year on year. Restaurants who partner with us see their revenue increase by up to 30 percent, creating thousands of jobs in the restaurant sector.”

In August 2020, UK regulators let Amazon buy a 16 percent stake in Deliveroo after initially expressing doubt about the deal.

The lead investigator wrote at the time: “When looking at any merger, the CMA’s role is to assess whether consumers will lose out from a substantial lessening of competition. We have not found this to be the case given the scale of Amazon’s current investment, but if it were to increase its shareholding in Deliveroo, that could trigger a further investigation by the CMA.”

In January 2021, Delivroo announced a fundraising round it said valued the company at $7 billion in advance of a possible initial public offering.

Last month’s $180 million round was led by Durable Capital Partners and Fidelity Management and Research. The company wrote in a Jan. 17 news release: “This investment comes ahead of a potential Initial Public Offering and reflects strong demand from existing shareholders to invest in the company, given the significant growth potential in the online food delivery sector in which consumer adoption is accelerating.”