Uber Acquires German Delivery Hero for $14.8 Billion to Expand European Market Presence

Uber is acquiring the German delivery service Delivery Hero in a deal valued at $14.8 billion. This acquisition aims to strengthen Uber's position in the European delivery market, where it currently trails behind DoorDash-owned Wolt. Uber stated that the deal will expand its international delivery operations into 50 new markets across Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Uber already holds the largest stake in Delivery Hero at 24.99% and offered other shareholders 41.5 euros per share, representing a 34% premium over the average share price in the past three months and a 40% increase from the price before the deal was first announced in May. Prosus, the second-largest shareholder with a 16.8% stake, agreed to sell its shares to Uber.

Simultaneously, Delivery Hero signed a $1.6 billion agreement to sell its operations in 14 countries, including parts of its European business, to the American investment group SSW Partners. These countries overlap with Uber Eats' strong markets, and the sale is intended to avoid operational redundancies between the two companies.

Upon completion, Uber's delivery footprint will cover 99 markets, with a projected combined order volume of 236 billion euros annually, including payments to drivers, restaurants, and couriers. Delivery Hero's order volume last year was 42 billion euros. Uber committed to maintaining Delivery Hero's Berlin headquarters and workforce at current levels until at least 2029 and pledged to invest 2 billion euros in Germany over the next five years.

This acquisition follows recent consolidation trends in the delivery sector, including DoorDash's purchase of Wolt and Deliveroo, and Prosus's acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway.com.