Doordash apparently wants to buy gorillas

The US delivery service wants to buy into Gorillas. The start-up's valuation is currently so low that a 'sell-off' is looming.

Gorillas is looking for new capital and is looking to raise more than $1 billion in a funding round. The Berlin-based 10-minute delivery company is thus aiming for a valuation of six billion US dollars. But the dreams could be shattered, currently Gorillas still hopes to be valued at 2.5 billion US dollars. The low valuation has probably caught Doordash's attention. The US delivery service is now looking to invest in Gorillas, if not acquire the start-up, report the Financial Times and Sifted.

Now Gorillas fears a "sell-off" because its search for new investors is currently on the "worst possible terms", sources from the Berlin-based start-up tell Sifted. The concern, they say, is that Gorillas will be bought at a "low billion-dollar valuation."

In May, Doordash announced plans to come to Germany, but so far the expansion hasn't worked out. Apparently, the American delivery service wants to "take advantage of Gorillas' market share in Europe," as Sifted writes, citing sources. Doordash was founded eight years ago and is currently valued at $59 billion.

Increasing criticism of Gorillas also apparently put a damper on the startup's rapid growth. In addition to strikes and blockades of the delivery men and women comes a penalty notice in Berlin and a dispute over the formation of a works council. Most recently, founder Kagan Sümer also came under criticism. He was reportedly fired by his former employer Rocket Internet Venture for alleged drug use. Sümer admitted to the magazine The Information to have taken "performance-enhancing drugs" in order to meet the demands of his job.