The acquisition would give DoorDash a presence in the Middle East and expand its footprint in Europe.
DoorDash said on Tuesday that it had agreed to buy Deliveroo, a British food delivery service, in a roughly $3.9 billion deal, part of its effort to expand overseas.
The deal would give DoorDash, the dominant food delivery app in the United States, a larger footprint in Europe and a presence in the Middle East, covering millions of users in more than 40 countries.
The agreement values Deliveroo, which is based in London, at about 2.9 billion British pounds, or about $3.9 billion, according to a filing with the London Stock Exchange.
Deliveroo serves nine countries, including France, Italy, Qatar, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. It said in the filing that the acquisition would enable the companies to invest in product and technology, and strengthen Deliveroo’s position in the areas it served.
Deliveroo has faced intense competition and legal challenges to its gig-economy business model since launching in 2013. Its shares dropped as much as 30 percent in its first minutes of trading after going public in 2021.
DoorDash, which is based in San Francisco, bought Wolt, a Finnish food delivery company that operated in 23 countries, primarily in Europe, for about $8.1 billion in 2022.
DoorDash said in the filing that the terms of the acquisition, which is subject to a shareholder vote and regulatory approval, were final and would not be increased unless a third party stepped in with a rival bid. It said it expected the transaction to close during the fourth quarter of this year.