Uber (UBER.US) plans to acquire ezCater for $2.3 billion in cash to expand corporate catering services

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Uber (UBER.US) will acquire the food service company EzCater Inc., for 2.3 billion US dollars in cash. This move will help the Uber Eats delivery platform reach more corporate customers.

Boston-based ezCater provides a food service platform through which businesses can arrange catering services for events, meetings, and other gatherings. Uber said in a statement on Tuesday that the private company's total bookings over the past 12 months have exceeded 2.5 billion US dollars and cooperated with more than 140,000 restaurants across the US. The average EzCater customer spends over $400 per order.

The acquisition will help Uber better compete with DoorDash (DASH.US), the leading food delivery platform in the US. DoorDash launched a food service product for corporate employees in April of this year.

Uber said the ezCater acquisition deal is expected to be completed within the next few months.

As of press time, Uber is up nearly 1% in the premarket.