Amid competition, DoorDash buys Finnish delivery app Wolt in $8-bn deal

DoorDash's shares soared 24% in extended trading in New York after news of the deal and third-quarter results that beat analysts' estimates.

DoorDash Inc. is hungry. 

The biggest meal-delivery service in the U.S. said it’s buying Finnish food-delivery startup Wolt Enterprises Oy for about $8 billion as it seeks to stay ahead of rivals in the race to satisfy soaring demand for fast delivery of everything from food to prescriptions and pet supplies. 

The all-stock deal is DoorDash’s biggest purchase to date, eclipsing the acquisition of Caviar in 2019. It’s the latest merger in the quickly consolidating food-delivery market, which has benefited handsomely during the pandemic, but where profits are elusive. Last year saw Europe’s Just Eat Takeaway.com NV buy Grubhub for $7.3 billion