DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats All 'Discussed Merging In Various Combinations,' WSJ Says

Food delivery companies DoorDash, Postmates and Uber Technologies Inc UBER all held some form of merger discussion in 2019, according to The Wall Street Journal's sources.

Since none of the talks among the three food delivery players resulted in any combination, the companies are now evaluating their next steps, the publication reported Tuesday.

Postmates, Doordash Weigh IPOs

Postmates privately filed to become a public company in 2019, but delayed its IPO in October after looking at Uber's rough IPO debut and WeWork's failed public offering. Postmates is now looking at going public again, the Journal said.

DoorDash is similarly considering a public market option, but is also open to selling shares to private investors, a source said, according to the publication.

Uber Eats Costs Ride-Hailing Company

A source familiar with Uber's strategy told WSJ the ride-hailing company has no desire to sell its food delivery business in the U.S., although it is open to consolidation talks with rivals.

Uber Eats accounted for 75% of Uber's total adjusted losses before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization in the three-month period ending December.

GrubHub Considers M&A 

Publicly traded GrubHub Inc GRUB said it has discussed strategic options and considers itself to be a potential buyer of rivals, the Journal said. 

Company executives are strategizing on how they would react to a potential activist shareholder, the publication said, citing a source.

Nominations for the company's board are open through Friday.

GrubHub CEO Matt Maloney told WSJ in an interview he expects the food delivery industry to show "more clarity" by the middle of 2020.

Related Links:

Study: 'Instacart Effect' Created Tens Of Thousands Of New Jobs, Hundreds Of Millions In New Revenue

GrubHub Launches New Hardware, CEO Talks State Of Pickup Ordering

Photo courtesy of Uber.