• Walmart, Kroger, and at least two other grocers are open to buying Grubhub, according to the New York Post.
  • “I have spoken with executives from each company (especially Walmart) and there is interest in acquiring Grubhub,” former Amazon executive and supply-chain consultant Brittain Ladd told the tabloid.
  • The struggling food-delivery startup has been trying to find a buyer for months, the Post reported. It has recruited financial advisors to review strategic options including a sale, the Wall Street Journal reported.
  • However, Grubhub denied it was looking to sell in a statement to Bloomberg: “There is unequivocally no process in place to sell the company and there are currently no plans to do so.”
  • View Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Walmart, Kroger, and at least two other grocers are interested in acquiring Grubhub, according to the New York Post.

Bosses at the retail titan and supermarket giant, along with managers at Albertsons and Ahold-Delhaize – which owns Stop & Shop – assessed how the food-delivery startup could augment their companies, former Amazon executive and supply-chain consultant Brittain Ladd told the Post.

“I have spoken with executives from each company (especially Walmart) and there is interest in acquiring Grubhub,” Ladd told the newspaper in an email. “I believe the value of Grubhub to Walmart is that they could leverage Grubhub for delivering food and groceries.”

The Post reported that Grubhub put itself up for sale months ago but hasn’t enticed any bids, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. However, Grubhub dismissed the claim in a statement to Bloomberg.

"We felt it was important to clarify that there is unequivocally no process in place to sell the company and there are currently no plans to do so," a representative told the outlet.

Grubhub's stock soared about 13% on Wednesday after the Wall Street Journal reported the struggling company has recruited financial advisors to review its strategic options, including a possible sale.

It retreated about 9% in premarket trading on Friday after the Bloomberg story damped hopes for a deal.

Fierce competition from rivals including Uber Eats and DoorDash has hammered Grubhub in recent months. Its revenue rose 35% in the nine months to September 30, but soaring costs meant its net income plummeted 89% to about $9 million.

Grubhub partly blamed its troubles on customers straying. "Online diners are becoming more promiscuous," it said in its third-quarter letter to shareholders.