By Lisa Baertlein
(Reuters) -United Parcel Service Inc on Friday announced plans to buy Roadie, a crowd-sourced, same-day delivery company whose major clients include home improvement chain Home Depot.
The tie-up comes after key UPS retail customers like Amazon.com Inc, Walmart Inc and Target Corp built or bought gig delivery services to provide speedy local delivery of everything from fresh food to bulky furniture.
UPS and Roadie did not disclose financial terms of the deal, which is scheduled to close in the fourth quarter.
It would add new UPS services just in time for the peak holiday shipping season when demand for delivery will surge.
“Roadie often provides service for shipments not compatible with the UPS network because of their size and perishable nature, and often because they are in shopping bags without the packaging required to move through the UPS system,” UPS said in a statement.
Following the completion of the acquisition, Roadie will continue to operate with its existing name.
Goods transported by Roadie will not cross into the UPS network and packages transported by UPS will not cross into the Roadie network, UPS said.
The union representing UPS delivery drivers did not immediately comment on the pending deal.
Shares in UPS were up 1% to $191 in midday trading. Shares in rival FedEx Corp were down a 1.2% to $257.99.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Jan Harvey and Steve Orlofsky)
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