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December 9, 2022

Done deal: Getir has bought speedy grocery competitor Gorillas

After months of wrangling, the deal is finally done


Gorillas

Getir, the Turkish speedy grocery company, has bought its German competitor Gorillas, bringing months of wrangling over the terms of the deal to a close.

Getir and Gorillas are two of the largest speedy grocery companies in Europe — an industry which boomed during the pandemic and saw gigantic VC support, but has seen more trying times in the past year. Both companies have laid off hundreds of employees this year.

It is understood that both companies will see a valuation cut in the terms of the deal, which reportedly values the combined entity at $10bn, with Getir at $8.8bn and Gorillas at $1.2bn.

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That’s significantly lower than previous valuations, Getir was valued at $11.8bn in March and Gorillas at $3bn in September last year. The terms of the deal have not been confirmed to Sifted by either company.

Earlier this week, sources familiar with the negotiations told Sifted that the deal tabled at the time was an all-stock sale, meaning Gorillas investors would receive Getir stock and no cash. 

The terms of the deal, according to the Financial Times, indicate that Gorillas’ investors will in fact get $40m in cash alongside equity — though given the valuation drop it's likely that some VCs will make no return on their investment. 

Gorillas, which was founded in 2020, raised $1.3bn from a roster of top investors such as Coatue, DST Global and G Squared. Sifted analysis of the company’s cap table shows US firm Coatue owns the largest stake, followed by Atlantic Labs and then Kagan Sümer — the company’s founder.  

Getir, which was founded in Turkey in 2015, is the best capitalised of Europe’s grocery startups. It’s raised $1.8bn in funding from investors including Tiger Global and Sequoia.

The primary motivation for Getir to buy Gorillas, say sources close to the speedy grocery industry, is to get hold of its dark stores — valuable assets in cities like Paris and Amsterdam where local governments are looking to prevent any more from opening and even shut down existing sites.

It is unclear whether there will be any layoffs as a result of the deal.

Amy Lewin is Sifted’s editor and cohost of Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast, and writes Up Round, a weekly newsletter on VC. She tweets from @amyrlewin. Freya Pratty is a reporter at Sifted. She tweets from @FPratty and writes our climate tech newsletter you can sign up here