Key Points:
- Uber buys an additional 4.5% stake in Delivery Hero.
- The deal is worth €270 million from Prosus.
- Uber will now own about 7% of Delivery Hero.
- Prosus sold shares to comply with EU competition rules.
Uber has struck another deal in the European food delivery market, agreeing to acquire an additional 4.5% stake in its German rival, Delivery Hero. This latest move by the San Francisco-based company further solidifies its position in the competitive European landscape.
Uber will purchase approximately €270 million worth of Delivery Hero shares from Prosus, Delivery Hero’s largest shareholder. The deal values each share at €20, as confirmed by Prosus on Friday, backing up an earlier report by the FT.
Prosus, a Dutch investment group, agreed to sell down its stake in Delivery Hero to meet EU competition rules. The sale price of €20 per share is slightly below Delivery Hero’s closing price of €20.14 on Thursday evening, even after shares had climbed 7% during that day. However, it still represents a 22% premium compared to the one-month average price.
This isn’t Uber’s first investment in Delivery Hero; it previously bought $300 million worth of shares in May 2024. Following Friday’s transaction, Uber will own roughly 7% of Delivery Hero, a move the company described as “opportunistic” to the FT.
The increased investment comes as Uber recently expanded its food delivery services into seven new countries. This action is part of a broader trend of North American companies expanding into the European market, following DoorDash’s £2.9 billion acquisition of the UK’s Deliveroo last year.
Delivery Hero has been under pressure from shareholders regarding the performance of its extensive global operations, which span about 70 countries and include brands like Talabat, Glovo, and Foodpanda. Aspex Management, a Hong Kong-based hedge fund owning around 9% of Delivery Hero, has even threatened to seek the removal of CEO Niklas Östberg if the company doesn’t sell assets and streamline its portfolio.
Meanwhile, Prosus needed to reduce its roughly 27% holding to “single digits” to address competition concerns related to its €4.1 billion takeover of rival Just Eat Takeaway. This disposal must be completed by August 2026. Prosus explored various options for offloading its stake, including block sales and gradually selling shares in the public market.
Sources familiar with the situation also indicated that Aspex had approached Prosus about buying a portion of its stake, though no final decisions on the deal size were made. A person close to Aspex viewed Uber’s sale as a “positive step toward change” at Delivery Hero.
Shares in Frankfurt-listed Delivery Hero have plummeted over 80% in the last five years, valuing the company at just over €6 billion, a stark contrast to its peak above €130 in 2021. Despite this, Delivery Hero co-founder and CEO Niklas Östberg welcomed Uber’s additional investment.
