Uber (UBER) Plots Delivery Hero Acquisition With Strategic Asset Divestitures

Key Takeaways

• Uber is engaging potential purchasers for Delivery Hero’s regional businesses across Latin America, Asia, and European markets.
• These strategic asset divestiture conversations aim to obtain regulatory clearance for acquiring complete control of Delivery Hero.
• Uber’s ownership position in Delivery Hero has grown to roughly 36.8%, factoring in financial instruments.
• Completing a full acquisition would require regulatory approval from authorities in numerous countries.
• This proactive strategy is intended to mitigate potential antitrust challenges before submitting a formal acquisition proposal.

Uber Technologies is strategically positioning itself for a complete acquisition of Delivery Hero by preparing to divest certain business segments that could trigger regulatory concerns.

Uber Technologies, Inc., UBER

A Bloomberg report, drawing from sources with knowledge of the situation, reveals that Uber has initiated contact with prospective buyers regarding specific Delivery Hero regional divisions. The focus areas are territories where both companies maintain competing operations — particularly throughout Latin America, Asian markets, and Europe.

UBER stock declined 1.56% at the time of this writing. Delivery Hero (DHER) gained 0.29%.

This strategic initiative demonstrates Uber’s commitment to transforming its substantial minority stake into complete ownership. The ride-hailing and delivery giant has systematically increased its Delivery Hero holdings to approximately 36.8%, including derivative positions, throughout recent months.

Navigating Antitrust Challenges

Securing complete ownership of Delivery Hero would necessitate regulatory endorsement from competition authorities across numerous countries. For a transaction spanning three continents, this represents a substantial regulatory undertaking.

Through proactively identifying purchasers for overlapping regional operations, Uber is strategically addressing anticipated antitrust obstacles before regulators formally raise concerns. This approach follows a well-established strategy — divest problematic assets that raise competitive concerns before authorities mandate action.

These negotiations remain preliminary in nature. No binding agreements for Delivery Hero’s regional operations have been publicly disclosed.

Delivery Hero ranks among the world’s leading food delivery platforms outside North America, operating businesses under various brand identities throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin American territories.

Strategic Divestiture Plans

The asset negotiations encompass territories where Uber Eats and Delivery Hero’s subsidiaries both maintain market presence. Transferring these operations to independent third parties would eliminate competitive overlap, addressing a primary regulatory concern when evaluating merger proposals.

Specific regional brands, individual markets under consideration, or the identity of potential acquiring parties remain undisclosed. Bloomberg’s sources maintained confidentiality regarding the parties engaged in these discussions.

Uber’s accumulation of Delivery Hero equity attracted significant market attention earlier this calendar year. Controlling 36.8% positions Uber where pursuing full ownership becomes strategically rational — provided the necessary regulatory framework is established beforehand.

The engagement with potential buyers indicates Uber is actively establishing that regulatory foundation.

Delivery Hero maintains operations across dozens of countries through subsidiary brands including foodpanda throughout Asian markets and Talabat across Middle Eastern territories, though the Bloomberg reporting specifically highlighted Latin America, Asia, and Europe as priority regions for Uber’s divestiture outreach.

Neither Uber nor Delivery Hero has issued public statements addressing the Bloomberg report as of publication.