Uber buys Delivery Hero for $14.8bn in deal testing EU regulators
Uber has agreed to buy Delivery Hero for $14.8bn, securing the last major independent global food-delivery network but setting up a likely antitrust showdown in Europe.
Uber will pay €41.50 per share in cash for Delivery Hero, a 26% premium over its initial €33 approach in May. That earlier bid sat below the market price and faced public resistance from major shareholders who demanded closer to €40. The revised price values the Berlin-based company at $14.8bn and has secured the unanimous backing of Delivery Hero’s boards.
The acquisition grants Uber control of the largest food-delivery footprint outside the United States. It absorbs major European, Asian and Middle Eastern brands like Foodpanda, Glovo and Talabat, creating a combined platform operating in 99 markets. The enlarged group would generate projected 2025 gross bookings of $236bn, cementing Uber's dominance now that DoorDash owns Deliveroo and Prosus owns Just Eat Takeaway.
To avoid antitrust intervention, Delivery Hero has agreed to sell its operations in 14 overlapping markets to New York-based SSW Partners for roughly $1.6bn. Uber will not take control of those businesses, and SSW will eventually flip the assets to strategic partners. However, Uber is lending SSW most of the purchase money, a vendor-financing arrangement designed to appease competition authorities before they are formally asked to rule on the deal.
Whether European and Asian regulators accept this pre-emptive carve-out is the central risk hanging over the transaction. Authorities will need to assess if a divestiture funded by the acquirer truly restores competition in the affected markets. The exact offer timetable, minimum acceptance threshold and regulatory filings are still unsettled, meaning a clean closure next year is far from certain.
The deal also highlights a shift in Uber’s capital allocation. Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi has committed roughly $10bn to robotaxis, including recent deals with Rivian, Wayve and Nuro. Funding an expensive autonomy programme alongside a $14.8bn cash takeover represents a considerable financial balancing act. Delivery Hero chief executive Niklas Östberg, who co-founded the company in 2011, will step down by March 2027, handing over a firm that will no longer be independent.
