As Q-commerce industry had been struggling through 2022, 2023 brough even more anxiety about the future. Flink is not an exception and the company was cutting staff and trying to raise new cash to continue the operations. As the investment climate is very challenging emergency sale seemed more and more likely. There were even speculations about the sale to competitor Getir.

However, according to a report first filed by Handelsblatt, Berlin-based fast grocery service, Flink has raked in €150 million from existing investors including German supermarket giant REWE at €50 million and DoorDash at €30 million.

At present, the company is reportedly still in negotiations with potential new investors to further up the number as Flink gives it a go to reach profitability.

The valuation, which was last at 2.5 Billion Euros, has fallen very significantly and not Flink is only worth around one 1 Billion Euros.

One of the most important shareholders is no longer there. So far, the sovereign wealth fund Mubadala from Abu Dhabi has not only been one of Flink’s major financiers, but also one of the largest shareholders in competitor Getir and would benefit from a merger of its investments. According to information from the start-up scene, Mubadala has therefore been pushing hard behind the scenes for a sale to Getir. Apparently there had been tensions among the shareholders for a while.

With the current financing, Mubadala no longer seems willing to provide Flink with additional capital as an independent company. The state fund is therefore no longer involved in the 150 million round and, according to information from the start-up scene, has not even exercised its pro rata rights. They allow each shareholder to maintain their percentage share in the company with an investment, i.e. not to dilute the share.

As part of the takeover of the Berlin adversary Gorillas by the Turkish Getir , it had already become apparent that difficult times were ahead for the express delivery services after the end of “Scale at all cost phase”. None of the providers was able to deliver signals that they would soon be profitable. Even massive staff cuts did not seem to bring enough relief. According to research by Manager Magazine, more than 8,000 employees lost their jobs at Flink alone last year.

Another drastic step follows to reduce costs. Nevertheless, Flink CEO co-founder Oliver Merkel apparently lured investors to lower costs even further. According to Flink headquarters, around a hundred of the approximately 600 employees are to be laid off, as reported by Manager Magazine.