Uber to acquire Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda Taiwan business in $1.25 billion deal

Uber announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire rival Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda Taiwan business in a $1.25 billion deal that would make the Silicon Valley company the dominant player in Taiwan’s food delivery market. The deal will also see Uber take a minority in the food delivery group. As part of the deal, Delivery Hero will sell $300 million in newly issued ordinary shares to Uber.

The news comes less than a year after Delivery Hero, the parent company of Foodpanda, confirmed that it was in talks to sell part of its food delivery business in selected Southeast Asia markets.

In a joint statement, the companies said the deal, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

“The strength of our Taiwanese business is a testament to the hard work of many teams over the last eight years. In order to build a world-leading service, we have come to the conclusion that we need to focus our resources on other parts of our global footprint, where we feel we can have the largest impact for customers, vendors and riders. This deal gives foodpanda an exciting runway in Taiwan and we wish them all the best in their next chapter,” said Niklas Östberg, co-founder and CEO of Delivery Hero.

The Singapore-based food delivery startup Foodpanda has faced some challenges in recent years. In September,  Foodpanda cut more jobs after 1,000 layoffs in February 2023. The startup later offered itself for sale as part of the effort to cut costs and stay competitive.

In a recent statement, Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, the senior vice president of delivery at Uber, underscored the fierce competition within Taiwan’s market. He added that acquiring Foodpanda would be instrumental in bolstering its presence in a region where online food delivery platforms are still burgeoning.

“Bringing together our distinct customer bases, merchant selections, and geographic footprints will allow us to deliver more choices and the best prices for consumers, stronger demand for restaurants, and more earnings opportunities for delivery partners. Taiwan is a fiercely competitive market, where online food delivery platforms today still represent just a small part of the food delivery landscape. We’re so excited about the opportunity to deliver even greater convenience and value that this transaction would unlock in the years ahead,” Gore-Coty said.

As one of Asia’s premier online food and grocery delivery platforms, Foodpanda has established a strong foothold across various markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, The Philippines, and Hong Kong. Following its acquisition by Germany’s Delivery Hero in 2016, Foodpanda has continued to thrive.

Taiwan’s food delivery sector is largely dominated by Foodpanda and Uber Eats. Recent data from insights platform Measurable AI highlights Foodpanda’s significant market share, commanding 52% of order volume, with Uber Eats trailing closely behind at 48%.

Notably, this acquisition marks one of Taiwan’s most substantial international deals, excluding those within the semiconductor chip industry, as outlined in the joint statement.

Earlier discussions suggested Delivery Hero’s intention to divest its Foodpanda business in select Southeast Asian markets; however, those talks were halted in February. CEO Niklas Östberg expressed contentment with indefinitely retaining the Foodpanda business in Southeast Asia, underscoring the company’s strategic vision, CNBC reported.

Over the years, Delivery Hero has acquired at least 20 companies to maintain its position as the leading food delivery platform in the world. Founded in 2011 by CJ Foo, Claude Ritter, David Bailey, Kolja Hebenstreit, Markus Fuhrmann, Nikita Fahrenholz, Niklas Ostberg, and Tracy Richardson, the Berlin, Germany-based Delivery Hero is a network of online food ordering sites with over 100 restaurant partners, operating in 21 countries and with over 73,000 restaurant partners.