The Boston Globe reports that Uber Technologies will spend $1.1 billion in cash and stock to acquire alcohol delivery service Drizly, a move that the story says "strengthens the San Francisco tech company’s foothold in the delivery sector, which has become more crucial during the pandemic as brick-and-mortar stores looked to bring their offerings online."
Drizly has a presence in more than 1,400 cities, and its CEO/co-founder, Cory Rellas, said that it "has spent the last 8 years building the infrastructure, technology, and partnerships to bring the consumer a shopping experience they deserve."
The Globe writes that "eventually, Drizly’s alcohol marketplace will appear in the Uber Eats app, but consumers will still be able to use the separate Drizly app. The Drizly acquisition is expected to close in the first half of the year.
"Uber Eats has already been branching out from local restaurant takeout by adding grocery, convenience, and liquor stores to its app."
- KC's View:
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The expectation here is that this is likely to ramp up competition in the alcohol delivery space, with players looking to make sure that the Uber/Drizly combo doesn't achieve such a strong beachhead that it prevents others from making any headway.
