VCs sell Flaschenpost stakes to Oetker

According to Deutsche Startups, the deal values Flaschenpost at €1bn.

The company recorded revenues of €27m in October 2020 alone, according to the Deutsche Startups report. However, the company continues to generate negative monthly cashflow of €2.5m.

Dr Oetker plans to combine Flaschenpost with its drinks delivery business Durstexpress, which is based in Berlin. The expanded business will be headed by a management board comprising members of the boards of both companies.

Previous funding
In 2016, Cherry, Vorwerk Ventures and business angel fund Discovery Ventures backed a seed round for Flaschenpost. Cherry invested via Cherry Ventures II, which held a final close in March 2016 on €150m.

Larix VC and business angels group Saarbruecker 21 invested in another seed round in 2017.

Cherry and Vorwerk took part in a further funding round of €20m for the business in 2018. The company aimed to use proceeds from the round to expand to more cities in Germany.

Tiger Global invested €50m in a series-C round for Flaschenpost in March 2019, deploying via its 11th fund.

Company
Founded in 2016, Flaschenpost is a drinks delivery service operating in 150 cities in Germany, with a particularly large presence in North Rhine-Westphalia. The company has 23 warehouse locations and claims to deliver drinks to its customers within two hours after their order has been placed. The business is headquartered in Münster and employs 7,000 people.

People
Flaschenpost – Stephen Weich (CEO).
Oetker – Albert Christmann (general partner).
Cherry Ventures – Christian Meermann (partner).
Vorwerk Ventures – Norbert Muschong (managing partner).

Advisers
Vendor – Schnittker Möllman Partners, Benjamin Ullrich, Matthias Schatz, Malte Bergmann, Sebastian Schödel, Christoph Lüttenberg (legal, tax).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• DACH
• Consumer
• Trade sale
• Germany
• Venture