By Lynda Kiernan

 

Berlin-based takeover food ordering service, Delivery Hero, has raise another round of $110 million in funding prior to a reported initial public offering (IPO) later in 2015.

 

This latest round from two unnamed U.S.-based ‘leading public market investors’, brings the total amount raised by the company to over $1 billion, with almost $600 million of the funds raised in 2015 alone, and brings the valuation of the company to over $3.1 billion.

 

Delivery Hero CEO, Niklas Östberg did not disclose a timeline for the public listing of the company, but did say the company could be in a position to list by the end of the year, explaining that for now, remaining private gives Delivery Hero the advantage over its listed competitors such as Just-Eat of being able to take advantage of the same financial backing as its rivals, but also able to act for the long term – quickly moving on acquisitions and strategic maneuvers.

 

The company has grown to 200,000 restaurants across 34 countries, processing 10 million orders per month, with monthly sales reaching $165 million through its network, and has, like other e-commerce players made substantial acquisitions, such as Turkey’s Yemeksepeti last month for the record price for a food ordering business of $589 million, and Pizza.de in August 2014 for an undisclosed amount.

 

Delivery Hero has stated that this latest round of capital will be used for “selective acquisitions and intensive product innovation.” This could indicate an expansion into the U.S. market dominated by Seamless and Grubhub, but where Amazon and Yelp are also looking to gain market share, or it could mean a shift to include other food categories such as home-delivered meal kits, grocery delivery, or premium restaurant home delivery.

 

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