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Uber has reached an agreement to take over the German takeaway company Delivery Hero in a $۱۴.۸bn (£۱۰.۷bn/€۱۲.۶bn) deal that would create a global food delivery giant.
The US tech firm said it had offered to pay €۴۱.۵۰ per share to Delivery Hero’s shareholders, valuing the business at $۱۴.۸bn. Uber will pay $۱۳.۷bn after accounting for its previous purchases of a quarter of Delivery Hero’s shares, most recently in May.
The deal would combine Uber Eats with Delivery Hero’s brands across ۹۹ countries, including Asia’s foodpanda, Latin America’s PedidosYa, and talabat in the Middle East. The combined company booked $۲۳۶bn in orders in ۲۰۲۵.
Under the deal, the San Francisco-based Uber will not acquire Delivery Hero’s operations in ۱۴ countries where it already has a strong presence, including the Glovo app that serves countries such as Portugal and Spain, foodora in countries such as Norway and Sweden, and Yemeksepeti in Turkey. They will instead be bought for $۱.۶bn by SSW Partners, a New York-based private equity firm.
Splitting the deal with SSW will help to prevent Uber dominating those markets, an important consideration for competition regulators.
Delivery Hero does not operate in the UK, where Uber Eats is among the biggest players in food delivery.
The takeaway delivery industry has soared in popularity in the last two decades, with a huge array of apps opening across the world and a boom in deliveries during coronavirus pandemic lockdowns. However, since the pandemic bubble burst, delivery companies have focused on trying to be big enough to cover significant operating costs – and putting pressure on delivery workers’ pay and conditions.
That has led to a wave of takeovers as businesses chase greater scale. The US’s DoorDash last year took over Britain’s Deliveroo for £۲.۹bn, while the South African-owned investment group Prosus bought JustEat Takeaway for €۴bn (£۳.۴bn).
The board and executives at Delivery Hero said they unanimously supported the takeover, and intended to recommend it to shareholders. Prosus said it had committed to sell its ۱۷% shareholding in Delivery Hero to Uber.
Kristin Skogen Lund, the chair of the Delivery Hero supervisory board, said: “The food delivery business is highly competitive and scale dependent. It is challenging to build from a European base, yet we have achieved an enormous amount over ۱۵ years.
“Joining forces with a strong partner now is the right move for Delivery Hero to best secure its future competitiveness and ability to deliver value for all our stakeholders.”
Uber said it will maintain Delivery Hero’s headquarters in Berlin and make no changes to its workforceuntil at least ۲۰۲۹, and pledged to invest €۲bn in Germany over the next five years. The deal is expected to close in the second half of ۲۰۲۷.
Uber said it will offer taxi services and food delivery in ۵۸ markets after the deal completes, up from ۳۴. Uber said that it benefits from taxi customers also using its food delivery services, and that people who use both services tend to spend three times more on its app.
Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive, said: “By bringing our platforms together, we will extend affordable, reliable delivery to many millions more people in many of the world’s most dynamic economies, while creating more opportunities for merchants and couriers.
“Together, we’ll nearly double the number of markets where we offer both mobility and delivery services, scaling a proven platform that we believe will create significant long-term value for our customers and shareholders.”
Delivery Hero’s founder, Niklas Östberg, started his first food delivery company in ۲۰۰۸ in Sweden. Östberg founded Delivery Hero in ۲۰۱۱ in Germany and listed the company on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in ۲۰۱۷.
Under pressure from activist investors, Östberg in May agreed to leave the company. He said: “I’m grateful to our people for building this company over ۱۵ years and we look forward to this great next chapter together.”
