Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Margaret Harding McGill
Source: www.axios.com, November 2020

The Justice Department has cleared Uber’s acquisition of food delivery company Postmates, a source familiar with the deal told Axios Monday.

Why it matters: The DOJ was scrutinizing the $2.65 billion all-stock deal over antitrust concerns as the food delivery sector undergoes consolidation.

  • The DOJ’s antitrust division requested more information about the merger earlier this fall.

Details: Uber on Tuesday filed a letter to the antitrust division outlining commitments made in connection with the acquisition, including:

  • Removing exclusivity provisions — which require restaurants to use only Postmates as their third-party food delivery service — in several markets, including Los Angeles, Miami and El Paso.
  • Not entering into any agreement with those restaurants that contains an exclusivity provision for six months following closing.

Flashback: Uber moved to acquire Postmates this summer after talks with GrubHub fell through.

  • Instead, European food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway agreed to buy GrubHub.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include material from Uber’s letter to the DOJ.