Delivery Hero board backs Uber's $15B takeover bid

Delivery Hero’s supervisory and management boards have signed off on Uber’s $15 billion takeover offer and are recommending that shareholders approve the deal, which would create one of the largest on-demand food delivery platforms in the world. The boards said the offer is in the best interests of the company, its shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders, calling the price “fair and adequate” and the deal one with the “potential to accelerate product innovation.”

If approved, the deal would double Uber’s global footprint and make its delivery platform one of the largest in the world outside of China, potentially putting Uber in a stronger position to compete with DoorDash and Just Eat Takeaway. Uber, already the largest shareholder in Delivery Hero, has set a minimum acceptance threshold of 50% plus one share of Delivery Hero’s outstanding share capital. Prosus, another major shareholder, has also agreed to sell its 17% stake in Delivery Hero.

As part of the arrangement, Delivery Hero had previously agreed to sell its businesses in 14 markets where Uber Eats already operates to New York-based investment firm SSW Partners for $1.6 billion.

The tie-up is the latest in a wave of consolidation in on-demand delivery. Over the past 18 months, Uber agreed to acquire Turkey-based Getir for $335 million, Grab agreed to buy Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan for $600 million in cash, and DoorDash agreed to pay $3.87 billion for the U.K.’s Deliveroo.

Why it matters

The deal would reshape the global food-delivery map, consolidating Uber’s position everywhere except China and adding pressure on DoorDash and Just Eat Takeaway just as rivals Grab and Getir are themselves being absorbed into larger platforms.