Wolt Draws Goldman Investment in $108 Million Funding Round

(Bloomberg) -- Wolt, a Finnish food-delivery company, has raised 100 million euros ($108 million) to prepare for an economic downturn.

The funds came from existing investors including ICONIQ Capital, Highland Europe, 83North and EQT Ventures, with Goldman Sachs Growth Equity participating as a new investor, the company said in a statement on Friday.

“We would not have raised this round if it wasn’t for the global Covid-19 crisis and the potential downturn we see in the near future,” Chief Executive Officer Miki Kuusi said in the statement. “It’s our responsibility to do everything that we can to be as well-prepared as possible given the uncertainty within the current economy.”

The funds will also give Wolt room to accelerate its expansion in some markets, the company said. The virus has had a mixed impact on food-delivery companies -- forcing many restaurants to shut while also driving an increase in demand from customers in lockdown. Uber Technologies Inc. has made an offer to acquire Grubhub Inc. in a move to combine two of the largest food-delivery apps in the U.S., people familiar with the matter said earlier this week.

Wolt, founded in Helsinki in 2014, operates in 22 countries and offers food from 10,000 restaurants. This financing round brings Wolt’s total funding to 258 million euros.

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