• This acquisition is a move to build Uber’s food-delivery platform while the company is terminating parts of its own service abroad;
• People familiar to the matter told Bloomberg that the deal might be closed as soon as this month.

Uber has made an offer to acquire American food-delivery service Grubhub, Bloomberg reported first. People familiar with the matter listened by the media outlet said that the companies could reach an agreement deal as soon as this month. This news made both companies shares in stock market climb.

Grubhub said in a statement: “Consolidation could make sense in our industry, and, like any responsible company, we are always looking at value-enhancing opportunities. That said, we remain confident in our current strategy and our recent initiatives to support restaurants in this challenging environment.” Uber said it wouldn’t “respond to speculative M&A premiums,” and that the company is “constantly looking at ways to provide more value to our customers, across all of the businesses we operate.”

READ ALSO: Delivery services suffer ‘blackout’ in Colombia during Mother’s Day

This acquisition is a move to build Uber’s food-delivery platform even as the company is shuttering parts of its own service abroad. Uber Eats has been shuttered in seven countries where it was unpopular, said the company. While Uber main business, ride hailing, was affected by the coronavirus pandemic, delivery helped the company. On the same path, Uber recently concluded the acquisition of the Chilean-Mexican grocery delivery Cornershop and CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said it is a key move for Eats growth in Latin America.