ezCater and the Other Half of Uber's FCF

Barely a week after my Uber Deep Dive, Uber announced yesterday it is buying ezCater, the largest online catering marketplace in the US, for $2.3 Billion in cash. The deal is small for a company worth ~$145 Billion, but it adds yet another vector to a pattern I have been highlighting for a while: DoorDash typically builds whereas Uber usually buys. And this time, Uber doesn’t seem to be buying cheaply either. I will discuss the price, the seller’s side of the story, and why I think the more important question here is about capital allocation behind the paywall.

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