The company's founder could exceed £170 million as investors' shareholdings on $3.6 billion (£2.7 billion) acquisition offer for rival food delivery app Doordash is 17% higher.

Deliveroo said on Friday after the UK stock market closed that the company received a buyout proposal from Doordash, the largest delivery app in the United States, on April 5. It said if Doordash made a solid offer, it might recommend investors a 180p per share offer.

Driveoo shares hit 171p in early trading on Monday, its highest level since 2022. The company said on Monday that a £100 million-pound costing plan, which was announced last month, had been "suspended" after Doordash's approach.

However, the company told investors on Friday that it might be "unsure of whether any company's offer will be made."

"Currently, shareholders are advised to take any action on possible offers," the company said in a statement.

Under the city takeover rules, Doordash must provide a solid offer for Deliveroo by 5 p.m. on May 23.

The acquisition agreement could be based on his 5.9% stake in the business Will Shu (approximately £172 million). Last year, he sold 9.4 million shares of the business, worth about £14.8 million, which he said was "covering personal property investment".

Shu is a former investment banker who lacked the inspiration of late-night food while working for a long time and founded Deliveroo in 2013. Since then, Shu has attracted support from Amazon and venture capital firm Index Ventures. Deliveroo's popularity surged during the pandemic, when lockdown promoted a huge rise in meals.

Listed in London in 2021, the company has made big fanfare at 390p per share, but fell about a quarter on the first day of the deal and has since been working to return to previous highs, especially given the decline in demand for takeaway orders after the pandemic.

While Deliveroo is one of the most popular delivery apps in the UK, with an average of 7.1 million active users in 2024, it is mainly a loss. It recorded its first annual pre-tax profit in 2024 at £12.2 million and revenue of £20.7 billion.

The company suffered delivery shares last month after its forecast earnings were well below analyst expectations, and the company said it would exit the Hong Kong market amid sales and fierce competition in the region.

Deliveroo and Doordash have recently tried to expand their user base by providing grocery delivery services and creating non-food services such as Flowers and Stationery.

The possible takeover will mark the latest information in a series of deals in the industry. In February, Dutch tech investor Prosus agreed to buy Out Eat aut takeaway.com for 4.1 billion euros (£3.5 billion).