Uber has reached an agreement to acquire German takeaway company Delivery Hero in a $14.8bn (£11bn, €12.9bn) deal that will create a global food delivery giant. The US tech firm offered €41.50 per share to Delivery Hero shareholders, valuing the business at $14.8bn. After accounting for previous purchases of a quarter of Delivery Hero's shares, most recently in May, Uber will pay $13.7bn.
Combined operations across 99 countries
The deal combines Uber Eats with Delivery Hero's brands, including Asia's foodpanda, Latin America's PedidosYa, and talabat in the Middle East, covering 99 countries. The combined entity recorded $236bn in orders in 2025. Uber will not acquire Delivery Hero's operations in 14 countries where it already has a strong presence, such as Glovo (Portugal and Spain), foodora (Norway and Sweden), and Yemeksepeti (Turkey). These will be bought for $1.6bn by SSW Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, to avoid market dominance concerns for competition regulators.
Industry consolidation amid pandemic aftermath
The takeaway delivery industry grew significantly during coronavirus lockdowns, but post-pandemic, companies have focused on scaling to cover operating costs, leading to a wave of takeovers. DoorDash acquired Deliveroo for £2.9bn, and Prosus bought JustEat Takeaway for €4bn. Delivery Hero's board and executives unanimously support the takeover and recommend it to shareholders. Prosus has committed to sell its 17% stake in Delivery Hero to Uber.
Commitments to Berlin and workforce
Uber will maintain Delivery Hero's headquarters in Berlin and make no workforce changes until at least 2029. It also pledged to invest €2bn in Germany over the next five years. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2027. After completion, Uber will offer taxi and food delivery services in 58 markets, up from 34. Uber notes that customers using both services spend three times more on its app.
Quotes from executives
Kristin Skogen Lund, chair of Delivery Hero's supervisory board, said: "The food delivery business is highly competitive and scale-dependent. It is challenging to build from a European base, yet we have achieved an enormous amount over 15 years. Joining forces with a strong partner now is the right move for Delivery Hero to best secure its future competitiveness and ability to deliver value for all our stakeholders."
Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's CEO, said: "By bringing our platforms together, we will extend affordable, reliable delivery to many millions more people in many of the world's most dynamic economies, while creating more opportunities for merchants and couriers. Together, we'll nearly double the number of markets where we offer both mobility and delivery services, scaling a proven platform that we believe will create significant long-term value for our customers and shareholders."
Founder's departure and legacy
Delivery Hero founder Niklas Östberg started his first food delivery company in 2008 in Sweden, founded Delivery Hero in 2011 in Germany, and listed it on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2017. Under pressure from activist investors, Östberg agreed to leave in May. He said: "I'm grateful to our people for building this company over 15 years and we look forward to this great next chapter together."
