Deal Reached for Uber Inc. to Acquire Postmates Food Delivery Service

In a marriage between 2 delivery and transportation rivals, Postmates announced today that a deal had been reached for Uber to acquire the food delivery service. This in an email sent to Postmates 2,000,000 US drivers. The deal is subject to the approval of regulators. The pricetag was said to be $2.65 billion.

Postmates and DoorDash had reportedly discussed a merger earlier this year to fend off Uber, GrubHub, Amazon, according to Recode.com.

The text of the email is as follows: Important Update

As an important member of our Fleet, we wanted you to know that there will be no immediate effect on your ability to accept deliveries on Postmates. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Q1 2021, at which point we will share more on our integration efforts.

Postmates and Uber have been strong allies working together to advocate and create the best practices across our industry, especially for our Fleet. Together we will ensure that as our industry continues to grow, it will do so for the benefit of everyone in the communities we serve. Thank you for being such an important part of our business."

Uber Technologies, Inc., commonly known as Uber, is an American multinational ride-hailing company offering services that include peer-to-peer ridesharing, ride service hailing, food delivery (Uber Eats), and a micromobility system with electric bikes and scooters. The company is based in San Francisco and has operations in over 785 metropolitan areas worldwide. Its platforms can be accessed via its websites and mobile apps.

In California, Uber is a public utility, and operates under the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission. California Public Utilities Commission regulates public utilities within its jurisdiction, including by setting rates for transportation services provided by Uber's "partner drivers."

Postmates is an American company that offers local delivery of restaurant-prepared meals and other goods. As of February 2019, Postmates operates in 2,940 U.S. cities.

The service relies on mobile phone applications and their Global Positioning System capabilities to match inventories and consumer demand.

Launched in 2011, Postmates is one of many on-demand delivery companies in the United States providing delivery from restaurants and stores that previously did not offer goods delivery.

Postmates is an example of an on-demand company. Postmates co-founder Bastian Lehmann calls the company "anti-Amazon".