Uber to acquire food delivery service Cornershop

Ride-hailing service Uber is acquiring Cornershop as it tries to gain a foothold in the Latin American grocery delivery business.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

San Francisco-based Uber, whose US$5.24 billion loss last quarter was its largest ever, has been expanding its offerings to include food delivery and other forms of transportation, such as scooters and bikes. Those services are being added to its main ride-hailing app, which the company hopes will help it generate more revenue and eventually turn a profit.

Santiago, Chile-based Cornershop does business there, as well as in Mexico, Peru and Toronto. In fact, Walmart Canada announced Oct. 10 it had entered a partnership with Cornershop for one-hour grocery delivery in the Greater Toronto Area.

Walmart Inc. made moves to purchase Cornershop for US$225 million but the deal was blocked by Mexican officials earlier this year.