Sources: Postmates and DoorDash CEOs have discussed possible merger at least once to better fight competitors; Postmates has also discussed a sale to GrubHub
and Uber Eats gifting massive consumer subsides for market share http://www.recode.net/... Jason Del Rey / @delrey : Scoop: Postmates and DoorDash have discussed a merger to fend off Uber, GrubHub and Amazon. We also have Postmates' 2017 high-level financials: Revenue grew 85+ percent last year to $250 million. But the startup posted an operating loss of $75 million http://www.recode.net/... http://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Postmates spent 2016 deliberately capping its valuation while raising $100M-$150M, a sign the company already sensed that an inflated private price would complicate an exit. Two years later, with revenue up ~85% to $250M but a $75M operating loss against Uber Eats' heavy consumer subsidies, its CEO turned to consolidation: merger talks with DoorDash and sale discussions with GrubHub.
The 2018 talks set the template for everything that followed — renewed acquisition conversations with DoorDash, Walmart and Uber in 2019, SoftBank-brokered but failed Uber–DoorDash merger talks in early 2020, and ultimately Uber's reported ~$2.6B bid for Postmates that June. This report is the first data point showing that no standalone path was seriously on the table.
First-order effects
- Postmates and DoorDash gain a potential combined rival to Uber Eats' subsidy machine, while GrubHub — named as a separate buyer — must weigh acquiring Postmates before a DoorDash tie-up locks it out.
Second-order effects
- Amazon's presence as a named competitive threat pushes every incumbent toward scale-first deals rather than profitability, forcing SoftBank later to broker the failed Uber–DoorDash combination.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, US food delivery consolidates from five-plus subsidized players into two or three platforms, with Postmates' standalone IPO — long delayed — becoming untenable and ending in acquisition.
The trend: On-demand food delivery is consolidating through serial M&A because consumer subsidies make standalone unit economics unsustainable at venture-scale valuations.