United States food ordering and delivery service operator Doordash has acquired Finnish technology company Wolt for seven billion euros.
The companies will continue as independent players until the transaction is completed in the first half of 2022 high means that following the transaction, Wolt will continue to operate under its current name and product. From the perspective of Wolt’s customers, merchants and couriers, the service will continue as before.
Wolt currently operates in 23 countries and has more than 4,000 employees.
In a press release, Doordash CEO and Founding Member Tony Xu says, “we have the opportunity to build a global platform for local commerce in the age of the Internet.” According to Xu, the deal will enable Doordash to accelerate its international growth while the company focuses on the U.S. market.
According to Yle, Wolt’s CEO Miki Kuusi will continue to lead Wolt and at the same time join Doordash’s management team when the transaction is completed. He will also become the company’s international business leader. Wolt’s headquarters will remain in Helsinki, making it the center of Doordash’s international business.
Wolt was founded in 2014 by 6 founders, including Miki Kuusi, the former the CEO of Slush. Wolt is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, and Miki Kuusi is the CEO. Later, two successive Slush CEOs, Riku Mäkelä and Marianne Vikkula, switched to Wolt as well.
As of May 2021, Wolt operates in 23 countries and over 180 cities, including Tampere, Turku, Tallinn, Riga, Stockholm, Vilnius, Copenhagen, Prague, Brno, Baku, Tbilisi, Athens, Tel Aviv, Berlin and Tokyo. Wolt has over 45 000 merchant partners, 90 000 courier partners and 12 million registered customers
The majority of the food delivery couriers are immigrants and the company is in legal fight over couriers employment status.
