Finland's Wolt sold itself to DoorDash — all-stock — and became its international engine

Wolt was founded in October 2014 in Helsinki by six co-founders led by Miki Kuusi (ex-CEO of Slush), starting pickup-first and adding couriers after finding product-market fit. A €10 million round (2016, EQT Ventures) funded expansion across the Baltics, Scandinavia and Central Europe; FY2020 revenue reached $345 million (on a $45 million net loss); a $530 million round in January 2021 (ICONIQ-led; total funding $856M) left it at 23 countries and 129 cities with 10M+ users, 27,000 merchants and 50,000 couriers.

On 9 November 2021 DoorDash announced an all-stock acquisition valuing Wolt at about $8.09 billion (€7 billion; DoorDash shares priced at $206.45), giving up its imminent IPO — in Kuusi's words, 'we've always been an underdog company that came from a difficult home market… I just saw that we can do so much more together'. The deal closed on 31 May 2022 with a realized value of roughly $3.5 billion as DoorDash shares fell through the pending period — the all-stock volatility is the case's core tension. DoorDash gained 22 new markets, with Kuusi heading DoorDash International.

Under the new owner Wolt compounded: at its tenth anniversary (2024) it spanned 28 countries and 1,000 cities supporting €19 billion of economic activity; it bought Romania's Tazz (2024); and in 2025 DoorDash closed a $3.9 billion cash acquisition of Deliveroo, moving Kuusi to Deliveroo CEO — a combined footprint of 45 markets (30 in Europe). Early 2026 saw exits from Japan and Uzbekistan as DoorDash pruned the long tail.

DoorDash's International core: 22 European markets added at announcement; 45 markets by 2025 after the $3.9B Deliveroo buy — founder Kuusi running both brands.

Sell into strength: DoorDash's high-multiple stock bought 22 countries and 50,000 couriers with zero cash, while Wolt gained US-market liquidity, brand retention and its founder as head of

All-stock price is a live bet: announced at ~$8.1B, the deal closed at ~$3.5B as DoorDash shares fell — the headline and the reality diverged, which sellers must price in before signing.

An underdog can beat the IPO queue by selling all-stock to a giant whose paper is expensive — but the paper moves: announce one number, close on another; tie the founder's equity to strategy, not

Wolt under DoorDash grew from 23 countries (2021) to 45 markets by 2025 and to 28 countries/1,000 cities at its tenth anniversary (€19B economic activity); the October 2025 $3.9B Deliveroo acquisition consolidated Europe, and Kuusi's move to Deliveroo CEO showed the acquisition became a leadership engine rather than a sunset.