Uber is reportedly buying Postmates for $2.65 billion

Uber is reportedly acquiring food delivery start-up Postmates for $2.65 billion, with official confirmation of the all-stock buyout expected as soon as Monday. 

The news was reported Sunday by Bloomberg and The New York Times, both of which cited anonymous sources with knowledge of the deal. Uber Eats’ vice president Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty is expected to take charge after Postmates is absorbed by its former competitor. It isn’t clear what role Postmates CEO and co-founder Bastian Lehmann will have, if any at all.

Launched in 2011, Postmates is active in over 4,200 U.S. cities and services over 600,000 restaurants. According to Second Measure, the company took eight percent of all food delivery sales in the U.S. during May, trailing behind DoorDash at 45 percent, GrubHub at 23 percent, and Uber Eats at 22 percent. Assimilating Postmates will likely give Uber Eats’ numbers a notable boost.

This acquisition is significant for Uber, particularly as the coronavirus pandemic has seen use of its ride sharing service fall by up to 70 percent in March. Uber has been making moves to strengthen its food delivery service as demand booms amidst the pandemic, withdrawing from less profitable countries and attempting to acquire GrubHub earlier this year. Though GrubHub eventually sold to Just Eat Takeaway for $7.3 billion, it seems Uber has found itself a consolation prize.

Mashable has reached out to both Uber and Postmates for comment. This story is developing.