For over $1.4 billion, Uber now owns 100% of Cornershop

Cornershop's founders Oskar Hjertonsson and Daniel Undurraga will receive 29 million shares of Uber

21.Jun.2021 20:51 BRT
UPDATED 21:01 BRT

The deal was announced in 2019 but took some time to be concluded since it depended on the approval of the authorities in all countries where the platform operates;
Only now Uber was able to acquire the remaining 47% of the Chilean company.

Uber announced this Monday the acquisition of 100% of the Chilean grocery delivery startup Cornershop – a deal announced in 2019, but that took some time to be concluded since it depended on the approval of the authorities in all countries where the platform operates. Uber, which owned 53% of the app, is taking control of the startup through an operation worth more than $1.4 billion.

In a statement to investors, Uber explained that the founders of Cornershop, Oskar Hjertonsson and Daniel Undurraga, will receive 29 million shares of Uber. At $49.31 each, that means that they will receive over $1.4 billion for the deal.

In an interview with LABS in early June, Eduardo Donnelly, regional general manager of Uber Eats in Latin America and board member of Cornershop, said that the complete acquisition of the Chilean startup was critical for Uber becoming an ‘everything delivery’ service in Latin America. “Uber is uniquely positioned to become the one-stop shop for your everyday needs, and is actually the only app in Latin America that offers both delivery and ride-hailing services at the touch of a button,” he said.

At the release of the company’s first quarter results this year, Uber‘s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that “Cornershop is going to be the unquestioned leader in grocery delivery in Latin America.” Delivery operations were the only ones that really grew in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to the pandemic, Uber ride-hail gross bookings, which plummeted over the last year, remained roughly flat from the last quarter and down 38% from the previous year. Food delivery, on the other hand, had a surge of 166% in demand.