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There has been a lot of speculation recently over online food delivery company Deliveroo heading for a public listing. The rumors were finally laid to rest on Sunday, January 17, after the London-based company said in its latest corporate update that it has a “potential” initial public offering (IPO) ahead.
The IPO news came tucked inside the announcement of Deliveroo’s latest round of funding, amounting to US$ 180 million.
The new investments, headed by its existing investors Durable Capital Partners and Fidelity Management & Research Company, have nudged Deliveroo’s valuation to over US$ 7 billion, the tech company stated.
Founded in 2013 by American entrepreneur William Shu, the Amazon-backed enterprise recorded a surge in its demand in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, as was common with most on-demand food delivery apps.
What We Know About The Deliveroo & its potential IPO?
London-headquartered Deliveroo is reportedly looking at getting listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Some media reports claim that following an IPO, Deliveroo’s value could go up to 13.6 billion.
©Kalkine Group 2020
The company is reportedly seeking to go public around April this year.
Both Durable Capital Partners and Fidelity Management had invested in US-headquartered food delivery app DoorDash Inc (NYSE:DASH) ahead of its IPO in December last year. DoorDash, which was valued at about US$ 16 billion pre-IPO, secured a valuation of US$ 32 billion on IPO.
The Amazon Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) investment came to Deliveroo after much regulatory hiccups. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK had blocked an Amazon-led million-dollar funding for Deliveroo back in 2019 on the grounds of anti-trust threats.
After about 15 months of investigation, Amazon Inc was finally allowed to purchase a 16 per cent stake in Deliveroo April 2020.
Despite rising demand for its services, Deliveroo suffered financial and operational crisis amid the lockdown restrictions last year. The company was forced to reduce its workforce by about 300 employees in a cost control drive. With the Amazon investment and phased reopening of the economy, Deliveroo reported being "operationally profitable" last year.
