German startup acquires Uber’s European freight unit

Berlin based freight startup sennder announced on Wednesday, 16 September, that it had acquired Uber’s European freight business in an all-stock transaction in which the ride hailing company acquires a minority stake.  

The acquisition is set to further revolutionise the digital freight industry across Europe, the US and Canada.   

“This collaboration with sennder allows us to further extend our reach in Europe while doubling down on our Uber Freight business in North America, and to jointly push the digital freight industry forward,” Lior Ron, Head of Uber Freight, said. 

Part of the deal includes a shipper referral program in which sennder will refer shippers seeking freight brokerage or similar services in North America to Uber Freight, and vice versa. 

“This acquisition strengthens our position as Europe’s number one digital logistics provider. We also look forward to working with Uber Freight to bring further value to both companies’ customers,” David Nothacker, CEO and Co-Founder of sennder, said. 

Sennder had also merged with French counterpart Everoad in June this year, followed by a Joint Venture with Italian logistics operator Poste Italiane in July.  

Sennder’s acquisition will see Uber Freight’s European General Manager Tom Christenson as the freight startup’s Chief Operating Officer, while Head of Shipper Operations Daniel Warner will join as its Senior Vice President Commercial.  

The Uber Freight team in Amsterdam will join sennder once the transaction has closed, and sennder will establish a new office in the city.  

Terms for the transaction have not been disclosed, however Bloomberg reports the division was valued at less than 900 million euros ($1.1 billion).

 Source: sennder