Uber Technologies has entered into an agreement to acquire workplace catering platform ezCater in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.3 billion, expanding Uber Eats and Uber for Business further into corporate and group food ordering.
ezCater provides a U.S. platform for workplace meals and catering, allowing businesses to order from more than 140,000 restaurants nationwide.
Its services range from individual meetings and events to recurring enterprise meal programs.
The platform also provides tools for companies to manage ordering and food spending alongside 24/7 customer support.
Uber plans to combine ezCater’s catering and business-to-business expertise with the customer and restaurant reach of Uber Eats and the enterprise relationships of Uber for Business.
For restaurants, Uber sees an opportunity to generate larger orders and reach additional customers through a broader catering offering.
For businesses and consumers, the combination is intended to make ordering food for groups more straightforward across workplace meals, events and social gatherings.
Uber also expects the expanded catering operation to create additional earning opportunities for couriers.
ezCater generated more than $2.5 billion in Gross Bookings during the trailing 12 months.
Gross Bookings increased at a high-teens percentage rate year over year.
The company is profitable on a non-GAAP operating income basis and is expected to be margin accretive to Uber.
Average ezCater orders exceed $400, highlighting the larger transaction sizes associated with workplace catering relative to many traditional food-delivery orders.
The acquisition gives Uber a more established position in the corporate catering market while adding infrastructure specifically developed around business food programs.
ezCater’s restaurant network will complement Uber Eats’ existing merchant relationships, while Uber’s scale could expand the audience available to ezCater’s restaurant partners.
The transaction is expected to close in the coming months, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
J.P. Morgan Securities is serving as financial adviser to Uber.
Covington & Burling is serving as Uber’s legal counsel, and Freshfields is advising the company on global antitrust matters.
Evercore is serving as financial adviser to ezCater, while Davis Polk & Wardwell is providing legal counsel.
KEY QUOTES:
“Catering is a big business, and can be a huge revenue stream for restaurants. Nihad and his incredible team have built an amazing platform. With Uber’s reach, we can bring that experience to millions more customers and help restaurants win more of these valuable orders.”
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber
“We’re thrilled to be joining forces with Uber. Our team is proud of what we’ve built — the leading platform for workplace catering, and a major growth channel for our restaurant partners. We’re energized to bring our catering and B2B expertise to Uber’s global ecosystem of customers, merchants, and couriers.”
Nihad Rahman, CEO of ezCater
