Uber acquires alcohol delivery service Drizly for $1.1B

Ride-hailing major Uber has acquired alcohol delivery service Drizly in a deal worth $1.1 billion, and Drizlys marketplace will eventually be integrated with the Uber Eats app.

Drizly is the leading on-demand alcohol marketplace in the US, available in more than 1,400 cities.

After the completion of the transaction, Drizly will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Uber.

"By bringing Drizly into the Uber family, we can accelerate that trajectory by exposing Drizly to the Uber audience and expanding its geographic presence into our global footprint in the years ahead," said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

Drizly works with thousands of local merchants to provide consumers with an incredible selection of beer, wine, and spirits with competitive, transparent pricing, the company said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Merchants on Drizly will be able to benefit from Uber's best-in-class routing technology and significant consumer base, it added.

"We are thrilled to join a world-class Uber team whose platform will accelerate Drizly on its mission to be there when it matters—committed to life's moments and the people who create them," said Drizly co-founder and CEO, Cory Rellas.

"Drizly has spent the last 8 years building the infrastructure, technology, and partnerships to bring the consumer a shopping experience they deserve".

Drizly plans to innovate and expand independently in its fast-growing and competitive sector, while also gaining access to the advanced mobile marketplace technologies of the world's largest food delivery and ridesharing platform.

The acquisition is expected to close within the first half of 2021