Turkish fast food delivery startup Getir, which recently announced the decision to withdraw from European and the U.S. markets, approved a break-up of the company that will trigger a fresh capital injection of up to $250 million (TL 8.2 billion), it said on Monday.
Istanbul-based Getir held an extraordinary general meeting on Sunday at which shareholders backed plans to split it into two independent companies, according to a report by British Sky News, which initially reported the break-off.
The first will consist of its food and grocery delivery operations in Türkiye and will be majority-owned and controlled by Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi state investment fund. The second group will run the company's e-commerce, finance, mobility and other activities, including FreshDirect in the U.S.
The first business would be led by Batuhan Gültakan, who was appointed as the CEO of the market service in Türkiye, while Nazim Salur, the company's founder, will have no active involvement in it, media reports indicated.
Instead, Salur would run the other standalone business, comprising Getir's other assets, including Getir Drive and BiTaksi, the ride-hailing services.
Getir's withdrawal from the U.K. and other European markets, confirmed in the spring, represented a full-scale retreat for a company once valued at nearly $12 billion.
As part of the restructuring, Mubadala had agreed to inject up to $250m into the company, the reports said, both to facilitate the orderly wind-down of its U.K. and European arm and to invest in growing its Turkish food delivery business.
Getir flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic but faced rivalry with other domestic fast-delivery players, such as Yemeksepeti's Banabi service and Migros Hemen.
Mubadala is said to be optimistic about the outlook for the Turkish market, and that the restructuring would leave the company in a much stronger position, according to another source close to the situation, Sky News said.
Part of the funding could be used to repay outstanding liabilities, which are understood to include several million pounds owed to Tottenham Hotspur FC, whose training kit it sponsored, it added.
The partnership structure of GetirFinans, which the company is preparing to launch after obtaining the necessary permissions to provide services in the financial field, would be held by Getir's founders at 40%, Mubadala and other investors in the new investment round at 32%, while Işbank's investment fund Maxis would have 20% and remaining 8% will be held by Crankstart, the report from Ihlas News Agency (IHA) said.
Evaluating the new structure, Salur said, "We are proud to have initiated a first in the world with the delivery of grocery products in 10 minutes nine years ago."
"Our success in this sector, which we created and pioneered, would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of all Getir's employees and investors. I would like to thank all of them for their contributions so far."
"This new structure we have created will enable Getir's online grocery and food delivery services to be better positioned in Türkiye while allowing me and my co-founders to devote sufficient time to other promising Getir services," he said.
Getir Board Member and Mubadala Diversified Investments Platform CEO Hani Barhoush, for his part, said: "Mubadala has always been a long-term and determined investor in Getir. Our latest investment reflects our strong confidence in the future promised by the company's core business in Türkiye."
Despite the positive tide during the pandemic, which saw Getir expand across several large European markets, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain, its decline came amid slumping valuations of tech companies and a slower pace of investments in the broader startup scene.
Many of its rivals have already gone bust, while others have been swallowed up in a desperate wave of consolidation.
Getir, whose name means "to bring" in Turkish, bought rival Gorillas in a $1.2 billion stock-based deal that closed in December 2022. Late in 2023, it also acquired U.S.-based FreshDirect.
"Getir will focus on Türkiye, its main market where it sees the greatest potential for long-term sustainable growth," the company said late in April as it announced it had decided to exit Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States.