Uber, the ride share company that has had trouble making a profit after going public in recent months, announced on Friday that it would be acquiring the Latin American food delivery service Cornershop as it aims to expand its services in Latin America. Uber has been expanding rapidly, acquiring different modes of transportation sharing and delivery services in the last couple of years as it aims to gain a foothold in the industry. Cornershop, the Chilean food delivery service, will represent a significant increase in Uber’s presence in Latin America.
Santiago, Chile-based Cornershop is a grocery delivery service that lets app users buy groceries and have them picked up and delivered from a third party. The service currently operates in Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Toronto, but Uber users will be able to access the service in these countries through the Uber app once the deal is completed in 2020. Neither Uber nor Cornerstone have disclosed the details or financial information about the deal so far, but the company is confident that it will finalize the deal in early 2020. Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber, posted on Twitter about the deal and included information about how Uber app users will be able to access the Cornershop service within the Uber app.
“Whether it’s getting a ride, ordering food from your favorite restaurant, or soon, getting groceries delivered, we want Uber to be the operating system for your everyday life,” said Khosrowshahi in a statement released to Uber investors on Friday. “We’re excited to partner with the team at Cornershop to scale their vision, and look forward to working with them to bring grocery delivery to millions of consumers on the Uber platform.” Cornershop will continue to operate with its current leaders, but will report to Uber’s board as it will become part of the public company.
Uber Struggles In Public Sphere
When Uber announced that it would be filing an Initial Public Offering in 2018, the company quickly became one of the most controversial to go public in recent years (far behind WeWork, but not without criticism as the company has struggled to make a profit in recent years. Still, to this day, the company has not made a profit while it continues to expand. Services like electronic scooters and bikes, food delivery programs, and even apps that connect temp workers to odd jobs are among just a few of the services that Uber has expanded into since launching in San Francisco in 2009.
The Uber share saw a nearly 4% rise on Friday in the wake of the announcement that the company would be purchasing Cornershop. The rise saw shares trading at $30.03 by the afternoon, still representing a lower position than when the company first filed its Initial Public Offering at $45 per share earlier this year.
