Prosus cashes out as Uber moves on Delivery Hero — Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters

Uber on Thursday launched a public takeover offer for Delivery Hero that values the German food delivery company at US$14.8-billion (R242-billion) and would create the world’s largest food-delivery firm outside China.

The acquisition advances the US ride-hailing firm’s efforts to build a global presence in the food-delivery business as it faces intensifying competition from rivals such as DoorDash, which has been expanding aggressively abroad.

The transaction would create a platform spanning 99 countries with combined pro forma gross merchandise value of $236-billion in 2025, the companies said in a joint statement.

Uber, which has made the acquisition conditional on a minimum acceptance threshold of 50% plus one share, will offer €41.50 in cash per share. The offer represents a roughly 34% premium on Delivery Hero’s three-month volume-weighted average share price prior to the takeover announcement, said the company.

Acquiring Delivery Hero would widen the Uber Eats food-delivery network in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, but would also attract attention from antitrust regulators given the overlap in the companies’ presence.

As part of the agreement, Delivery Hero has agreed to sell part of its business covering 14 markets to US-based investment firm SSW Partners for about €1.4-billion. The divestment is aimed at addressing overlap between the companies’ operations and could help smooth the path for regulatory approvals.

Commitments

For its part, Uber has committed to invest €2-billion in Germany through to 2031 and agreed to retain Delivery Hero’s Berlin headquarters and workforce until at least 2029.

Delivery Hero’s management board and supervisory board said they supported the proposal and intended to recommend shareholders accept the offer after reviewing the formal offer document.

“The food delivery business is highly competitive and scale dependent,” Delivery Hero supervisory board chair Kristin Skogen Lund said. “Joining forces with a strong partner now is the right move for Delivery Hero to best secure its future competitiveness.”

Read: Food delivery helps fire Prosus to 84% profit surge

The offer is expected to be completed in the second half of next year.

Major shareholder Prosus has agreed to sell its stake of just under 17% in the food delivery company, according to Uber, which had already secured exposure to nearly 37% of Delivery Hero shares, including through derivatives.