TAIWAN – Courier and ride-hailing company, Uber, has announced plans to acquire Foodpanda for US$950 million in an all-cash deal, creating a monopoly in the Taiwanese food delivery market.
This acquisition, the largest retail deal in Taiwan, is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2025, pending regulatory approval.
As part of a separate agreement, Delivery Hero, the owner of Foodpanda, will sell $300 million in newly issued shares to Uber.
According to Measurable AI, Foodpanda holds 52% of Taiwan’s delivery market, while Uber Eats controls 48%. This acquisition will give Uber total market control in Taiwan.
Delivery Hero plans to shift its focus to other markets following the deal.
Niklas Östberg, founder and CEO of Delivery Hero, explained, “We have concluded 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.”
The merger aims to combine both companies’ delivery, merchant, and customer bases into a single app, enhancing customer value through Uber’s global expertise and Foodpanda’s extensive reach in Taiwan.
This integration is expected to offer customers greater choices across food prices and price points by leveraging the complementary strengths of both companies.
Uber also stands to gain from Delivery Hero’s quick commerce innovation, which promises to deliver groceries and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) to customers in less than an hour.
Additionally, Uber reiterated its commitment to building on the infrastructure and efficiency established by Delivery Hero in the Taiwanese market.
Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Senior VP of Delivery at Uber, stated, “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.”
He also highlighted the attractiveness of the Taiwanese market as a factor in the acquisition.
In February, Delivery Hero, attempting to downsize in Asia, terminated talks with an undisclosed third party regarding the potential sale of Foodpanda in select Southeast Asian markets: Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
Delivery Hero’s food delivery division competes with Grab in Southeast Asia. Foodpanda’s partial sale talks fell through in the wake of its September layoffs, which were intended to streamline operations.
