Uber enters into alcohol delivery business with acquisition of eCommerce startup Drizly for $1.1 billion

You can now order alcohol via Uber. Today, Uber announced it is acquiring Boston, MA-based alcohol-delivery service startup Drizly for $1.1 billion in stock and cash. The deal is expected to close within the first half of 2021.

Following the completion of the transaction, Uber said Drizly’s marketplace will be integrated with the Uber Eats app. As part of the acquisition, Uber will also keep the standalone Drizly app.

Founded in 2012 by Cory Rellas, Justin Robinson, Nicholas Rellas, and Spencer Frazier, Drizly is an e-commerce alcohol marketplace and the best way to shop beer, wine, and spirits. Drizly has partnered with retailers in 235 markets to offer consumers of legal drinking age unrivaled selection and a transparent, personalized shopping experience.

The startup also partners with retailers to bring their shelves online, helping them to reach new customers, tap into key market and customer insights, and diversify their business to grow sales.

In recent years, Drizly has become the leading on-demand alcohol delivery service in the U.S. and is available in 1,400 cities. The acquisition could help drive people to use Uber’s app more often.

“During this time our delivery business has been growing at extraordinary rates,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC on Tuesday. Drizly said it had more than 300% growth in the past year.