Turkish quick commerce start-up Getir is in advanced talks to buy rival Gorillas, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Reports suggest the proposed deal would be a mix of cash and equity, “the combination would give Getir, which is backed by Mubadala Investment Co. and Sequoia Capital, scale in key European markets, including the UK and Germany,” the article stated.
Gorillas, which raised funds at a US$3bn valuation a year ago, has been exploring options after investors became more cautious of the money losing rapid delivery industry.
Representatives for Getir and Gorillas have declined to comment.
However, a former Amazon executive and supply chain consultant Brittain Ladd has said he has known about the deal for several weeks. Writing on LinkedIn about the rumours, he stated: “Gorillas has spoken to many different companies about being acquired over the last year without making a deal.
“If the talks are legitimate, I have consistently stated that it would be Getir who would eventually acquire Gorillas. I’m not giving the reason why for this other than to state that revenge is sweet.”
Ladd went on to explain that he had been a critic of Gorillas: “the cash burn rate at Gorillas was the highest I’ve ever seen in any industry from any company”.
“When I would communicate with executives from Gorillas, and individuals with an interest in Gorillas and the RGD industry, I always stated the following: Gorillas has to find a way to merge with Flink. If this doesn’t happen, I don’t think Gorillas can make it on their own. This means that Delivery Hero will likely invest in Gorillas, but I’m not convinced they’ll acquire Gorillas. In my opinion, Getir is who will acquire Gorillas,” he continued.
While these are just reports and no deal has yet been signed, Ladd concluded that he believe the deal will close.
