The ride-hailing app Uber is in early acquisition talks with food-delivery company Deliveroo, sources familiar with the plans say.

The food delivery company is based in London and is valued at £1.5billion. Uber would have to quote higher than Deliveroo’s valuation for a deal to be made.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has made food-delivery business a top priority before the scheduled initial public offering in the second half of 2019. The aim of the San Francisco startup is to dominate the food-delivery business in Europe.

Deliveroo has grown to operate in 200 cities around the globe since 2013. Last year, the company was able to raise $482m from investors including Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. However, the company is not as famous in the US market as it is in the European one.

According to Bloomberg, talks between the two companies may fall apart as Deliveroo has shown reluctance to relinquish independence.

Deliveroo competes with Uber Eats -Uber’s food delivery business. Uber Eats was launched in 2014 and claims to be the largest food delivery business outside of China. The company operates in 290 cities around the world and is set to reach an annual revenue of $6billion.

Last year, Deliveroo was in talks with one of Uber’s major investors SoftBank Group Corp. The negotiations however fell apart after Softbank decided to concentrate on backing Uber.

Uber is also in talks with Middle Eastern ride-sharing app Careem, Bloomberg Reported. Sources say that after Uber sold its business in Southeast Asia, China and Russia, it is now eager to buy out its competitors rather than offload its remaining local business.

By Airport Pickups London