The founder of Deliveroo is set to pocket £170m if a takeover bid by a US rival is approved.
The food delivery giant confirmed on Friday night that San Francisco-based DoorDash had made a £2.7billion approach for the company.
It added that the board would be ‘minded to recommend’ the deal if a firm offer of 180p-a-share is made.
A takeover would spell the end of Deliveroo’s disappointing time on the London Stock Exchange, with shares down 60 per cent on its listing price.
Despite the shambolic performance, chief executive Will Shu, who has a 6.4 per cent stake, is set to walk away with millions.
Shu founded the delivery giant in 2013, becoming one of the most prominent business leaders in Britain.
Healthy profit: Deliveroo has confirmed that San Francisco-based DoorDash had made a £2.7billion approach for the company
The firm employs thousands of staff and has partnered with some of the country’s best-known restaurants, including McDonald’s and Pizza Express.
Deliveroo was privately held for most of its first decade in existence, attracting big-name technology investors.
In 2019 Amazon bought a sizeable minority stake in the company. The deal drew scrutiny from competition authorities but was approved the next year.
That was widely expected to be the prelude to a full takeover bid, but such an offer never materialised.
Instead, Deliveroo opted to go public in 2021 with a £7.6billion valuation. Its shares lost more than a quarter of their value on the first day of trading, leading to what critics dubbed the worst public share sale in history.
Its stock closed at 147p last Friday, compared with its 390p listing price.
The DoorDash bid would value the firm at £2.7billion, making Shu’s stake worth £172.4m.
It is now set to become the latest UK company swallowed by a US rival in a fresh blow to London’s stock market. DoorDash operates in more than 30 countries and posted $10.7billion (£8billion) in revenues last year.
In a statement, Deliveroo said it had ‘decided to engage in discussions with DoorDash in relation to the possible offer’.
DoorDash will have to make an offer by May 23 under UK takeover rules or walk away.
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