US delivery giant DoorDash has abandoned talks with Gorillas after the grocery startup went behind its back in an unsuccessful bid for a larger investment.
The Telegraph reports that the companies had negotiated a $400 million deal, which recently collapsed.
The agreement would have valued Gorillas at $2.5 billion – well below the $6 billion price tag it was seeking earlier this year.
Both parties had reportedly signed a letter of intent, but it was torn up by DoorDash after the grocery service tried to secure a different backer at a higher valuation.
READ MORE: Gorillas funding round to be on ‘worst possible terms’
Both DoorDash and Gorillas declined to comment.
Insiders suggested this month that the US behemoth could buy Gorillas outright for a “low billion USD amount”.
It would allow DoorDash to gain a foothold in Europe and take on Dija, its main domestic rival, which operates in Britain, France and Spain after two grocery acquisitions.
However, the predicted “fire sale” does not seem to have materialised either.
Gorillas has become infamous for its volatile environment, having been rocked three weeks ago by allegations about its “erratic” boss Kağan Sümer.
One employee at its headquarters said the chief executive would often “send videos of himself swearing and screaming to a WhatsApp group we had”.
Another claimed there was “a lot of shouting” and that “people are afraid to show up to meetings” with Sümer.
Click here to sign up to Grocery Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
