Uber Passed On Deal To Buy Caviar Before DoorDash

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Uber almost acquired premium food delivery service Caviar, but ultimately decided against it, according to a report by CNBC.

He shared the news in an interview, as Uber shares suffered from less-than-promising Q2 results.

“We took a look at Caviar. It’s a great brand,” Khosrowshahi said. “It wasn’t the right deal for us.”

Square sold Caviar to DoorDash instead, for $410 million on Aug. 1. Square originally purchased Caviar in 2014 for $44 million.

Khosrowshahi noted that Uber Eats would focus on growth instead of acquisitions, and that he sees food delivery as a real battle in the upcoming years. “The Eats market continues to be very competitive,” he said.

He added that he’s not worried that turning down Caviar will have any effect on future potential acquisitions. “We’re Uber,” he said. “Everyone wants to talk to us.”

Uber’s Q2 loss was $4.72 a share, which was more than expected. Its revenue of $3.17 billion was also a miss. The company did see gross bookings beat expectations, although Uber Eats’ gross bookings did not meet forecasts.

In terms of other positive advances achieved, Khosrowshahi referred to the success of Uber’s loyalty programs for both customers and drivers.

Though no new numbers were offered on the consumer side, Uber did note that rewards has created synchronicity between Uber Eats and ridesharing, with consumers enrolled in the program twice as likely as to be active on both Rides and Eats.

“So with rides, I say the competitive environment is stable and getting better,” Khosrowshahi said. “We see a lot of competition with Eats.”

Uber also highlighted the growth in its Eats platform in general. Uber Eats’ monthly active platform consumers (MAPCs) reportedly grew 140 percent year over year.

Of those new users, 40 percent reported never having used Uber’s platform. As of the end of the quarter, Uber Eats is reporting connections to 320,000 restaurant partners.

The firm reports that more than 50 percent of its U.S. drivers have enrolled in the Uber Pro driver loyalty program, and that its initial expansion into Mexico and Brazil has seen strong early adoption.

On the international front, Uber also announced that both Germany and Argentina saw strong growth last quarter. Buenos Aires, Argentina has become the fifth-largest city in the world based on trips.