Getir, the Istanbul-based delivery startup, is in advanced talks to buy rival Gorillas Technologies GmbH, people familiar with the matter said.
The proposed deal would be a mix of cash and equity, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. No final decisions have been made and the deliberations may not result in a transaction, they said.
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. Gorillas, which last raised funds at a $3 billion valuation a year ago, has been exploring options after investors became more cautious on the money-losing industry.
Representatives for Getir and Gorillas declined to comment.
Gorillas had previously held talks with a number of competitors about the prospects for a merger or sale of its business, people familiar with the matter said previously. The industry is consolidating as companies emphasize a shift to profitability. Getir agreed to buy UK startup Weezy in late 2021,while Gorillas acquired France’s Frichti earlier this year.
Berlin-based Gorillas quickly attracted capital after it was founded in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 lockdowns when delivery services enjoyed a surge in popularity. More lately, the German company has had to slash staff and pull back from some of its markets after rapidly burning through capital by offering grocery delivery within minutes.
Chief Executive Officer Kagan Sumer said earlier this year that he planned to look for new financing to recalibrate the company to work toward profitability.
Getir, which launched in 2015, raised nearly $800 million in March at a valuation of $11.8 billion to expand its rapid-delivery business.
While the industry received billions of venture capital dollars during a pandemic-fueled boom, rising interest rates and plunging valuations for public technology companies have spurred a shift in strategy.
Another rival, SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Gopuff, plans to end its Spanish operations to retrench in the UK and focus on moving toward profitability, Bloomberg News reported in August.