Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told CNBC on Friday that the ride-hailing, freight, and delivery giant considered a deal with on-demand food delivery service Caviar but decided to pass.
“We took a look at Caviar. It’s a great brand,” Khosrowshahi said in a “Squawk on the Street ” interview, as Uber shares were sinking after on disappointment second-quarter results. “It wasn’t the right deal for us.”
Khosrowshahi said that Uber’s food delivery service, Uber Eats, will focus on organic growth rather than acquisitions.
On Aug 1, Square announced an agreement to sell Caviar to Uber Eats’ formidable rival DoorDash for $410 million. Square had bought Caviar for just over $44 million in 2014. The Caviar service specializes in premium restaurants.
While declining to comment further on Caviar, Khosrowshahi did say that he sees food delivery as a real battle this year and next. “The Eats market continues to be very competitive.
Khosrowshahi said that if Uber were to seek any acquisitions in the future, he’s not worried. “We’re Uber, everyone wants to talk to us.”
After the Wall Street close Thursday, Uber posted a much larger than expected second-quarter loss of $4.72 per share. Revenue of $3.17 billion was also missed analyst estimates.
Uber’s core ride-hailing business saw better-than-expected gross bookings for the quarter, while the newer Uber Eats unit’s gross bookings fell short of forecasts.
“So with rides, I say the competitive environment is stable and getting better,” Khosrowshahi said during Friday’s CNBC interview. “We see a lot of competition with Eats,” he reiterated.
