Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to acquire Drizly Inc., which makes an on-demand alcohol delivery app, for $1.1 billion, a wager that demand for home delivery will persist after the coronavirus pandemic subsides.
The deal is Uber’s biggest since July when it bought Postmates, a food delivery app. The Drizly purchase primarily consists of Uber stock, with less than 10 percent in cash, the companies said in a statement Tuesday.
Shares of Uber were up 9.8 percent to $57.93 in early trading Tuesday.
Drizly has had a breakout year as consumers stuck at home ordered in alcohol instead of venturing to the store. Drizly operates in more than 1,400 U.S. cities connecting customers with local stores to order beer, wine and liquor.
In May, around the height of U.S. coronavirus lockdowns, sales were about 400 percent above historical levels, the company said. Consumers both ordered more frequently and bought more per order, it said at the time.