Uber Eats has eyes set on growth overseas, announcing last week that it’s scooping up Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan for $950 million in cash.
The move comes as Uber looks to expand delivery in the Asian-market region. The two companies have also entered an agreement for Uber to purchase $300 million in newly issued ordinary shares of Delivery Hero.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in early 2025, at which Foodpanda’s local consumers, merchants and delivery partners will be transitioned to Uber Eats.
It will also establish Uber Eats as the leading force in Taiwan’s food delivery sector, which is currently divided between Uber Eats and Foodpanda.
The deal merges Uber Eats’ stronghold in northern regions and urban centers with Foodpanda’s robust presence in the southern areas and smaller towns.
Delivery Hero co-founder and CEO Niklas Östberg said, “The strength of our Taiwanese business is a testament to the hard work of many teams over the last eight years. In order to build a world-leading service, we need to focus our resources on other parts of our global footprint, where we feel we can have the largest impact on customers, vendors and riders.”
“This deal gives Foodpanda an exciting runway in Taiwan and we wish them all the best in their next chapter.”
Uber Delivery senior vice-president Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty said, “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.
“Taiwan is a fiercely competitive market, where online food delivery platforms today still represent just a small part of the food delivery landscape. We’re so excited about the opportunity to deliver even greater convenience and value that this transaction would unlock in the years ahead.”
Foodpanda was founded in 2012 in Singapore before eventually expanding to other Asian countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, The Philippines and Hong Kong. In 2016, it purchased Delivery Hero, one of the largest delivery companies in the world with operations in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and South America.
The deal with Uber now marks one of the largest ever international acquisitions in Taiwan, outside of the semiconductor industry.
