Flink, the Berlin-based quick-commerce startup that has been an acquisition target for Gorillas, Getir, Amazon, and Gopuff, has revealed plans to go it alone: TechCrunch has exclusively learned that the company plans to raise $150 million and double its operations in Germany and the Netherlands by partnering with Just Eat Takeaway.com.
The funding, which consists of $115 million in equity and $35 million in debt, comes from a mix of new and existing investors. BOND, Mubadala, Northzone and supermarket giant REWE are backing Flink along with two unnamed investors.
The company did not disclose whether Just Eat Takeaway was one of the unnamed investors. The Dutch company has also expressed an interest in merging with Flink, working with it in what Flink calls a “preferred partnership.” REWE was Flink's existing preferred partner.
“This investment will enable us to further expand our reach, improve our operational efficiency and continue to deliver the fast, reliable service our customers rely on,” Oliver Merkel, founder and managing director of Flink, said in a statement.
Flink didn't disclose its valuation, but a source close to the company told TechCrunch that it's valued at just under $1 billion. Given that Flink had raised more than $1.5 billion prior to this round, according to PitchBook, the company is in the midst of a major recapitalization.
As interest in quick commerce peaked, Flink received investment from DoorDash in December 2021 at a valuation of nearly $3 billion, and then raised more funding just a few months later at a valuation of nearly $5 billion, according to sources.
Then in April this year, rumors circulated that Flink had raised $106 million while considering a sale to Getir or Just Eat Takeaway. As far as we understand, the funding was a combination of bridge financing and other commitments backdated to 2022. Since then, the once-aggressive Getir has retreated significantly. But some of the rumors were accurate, and Just Eat Takeaway is indeed on the radar. We're hearing that today's funding round is a new deal.
News of Flink's new capital comes at the end of a turbulent period in the instant delivery market.
This e-commerce segment, which offers small selections of goods stocked by online retailers in distributed “dark stores” and delivered within an hour, became a big hit early in the COVID-19 pandemic as it emerged as a convenient way for home-bound and socially distanced consumers to pick up products they might have previously bought in a store.
This gap in the market became attractive to investors, who pumped billions of dollars into numerous startups, following in the footsteps of ride-hailing companies and running expensive marketing campaigns to lure users. Notably, some of Flink's investors announced today joined the rush. But it was all castles in the sand, and many of the startups went bankrupt or were acquired by rivals.
Flink was just part of that expansion, consolidation and exit: the company acquired Cajoo in 2022, which was seen as a face-saving move for the French startup. Now, Flink has officially shut down operations and withdrawn from France.
Similar to Getir's retreat to its home market of Turkey, Flink is also focused on improving its unit economics, and future expansion ambitions will come from this stronger footing. Currently, the startup is focused on Germany and the Netherlands.
Flink expects to post $600 million in combined sales in both countries in 2024, up 20% from 2023. It also expects to achieve break-even EBITDA in both markets, with the goal of achieving overall profitability by the second quarter of 2025. The average order (also known as basket size) is currently at $40.
Flink has 146 locations in about 80 cities in both countries, with 30 more planned to open next year, and employs 8,900 people.