Berlin, May 22, 2026, 20:04 (CEST)
Uber Technologies is looking at a full buyout of Delivery Hero, Bloomberg News said Friday. That would be a big step for the U.S. firm’s global food delivery expansion. Uber shares dropped on the report. Uber didn’t answer a request for comment from Reuters. Delivery Hero said it had no comment on Uber’s plans.
Uber this week revealed it upped its holding in Frankfurt-listed Delivery Hero to 19.5% from about 7%, now the company’s top shareholder, with options on another 5.6%. If Uber takes its stake to 30%, it must make a mandatory offer for the rest, according to a filing.
A full bid would put another contender into a market already dominated by a handful of big names. DoorDash got the green light in the EU last year to take over Deliveroo. Prosus, after agreeing to cut its stake in Delivery Hero, won conditional EU approval for its €4.1 billion deal for Just Eat Takeaway.
Uber held talks with advisers and other Delivery Hero investors and tapped Morgan Stanley to help it increase its stake fast using derivatives instead of buying shares outright, Bloomberg reported. Talks are ongoing and could still fall apart, according to the report.
Delivery Hero said earlier this week that Uber’s new investment is a vote of confidence in its platform and its “Everyday App” push, which aims to move into daily-use services beyond food delivery. The Berlin-based group says it’s active in about 65 countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. Delivery Hero
Analysts say the stake is more than just a passive bet. JPMorgan analysts called it a “clear endorsement” of Delivery Hero’s assets. Wolfgang Specht at Berenberg wrote that the investment case may have “materially changed” and said takeover scenarios should now be priced in. Investing.com
The stock’s move has already shifted the boardroom numbers. Top Delivery Hero holders now include Prosus at 16.8% and Aspex Management, which this month lifted its position to about 15% and has called for asset sales and new leadership. Aspex founder Hermes Li said the firm boosted its stake because it sees “belief in the value upside.” Reuters
Delivery Hero said on May 12 its co-founder and CEO Niklas Östberg will step down by March 31, 2027. Östberg plans to stay on during a strategic review and M&A work. He called it the “right moment” to start passing the company to new leadership. Delivery Hero
Uber shares dropped 1.6% in New York on Friday after the Bloomberg news, Reuters reported. Delivery Hero has climbed nearly 50% in Frankfurt trading this year and now has a market cap of about €10.2 billion, according to Bloomberg. The market response was mixed.
Regulators are a clear hurdle. Uber pulled its $950 million offer for Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda Taiwan unit last year after authorities in Taiwan stopped the deal, citing competition concerns. Officials said Uber’s share could hit about 90% and trigger price hikes.
Bloomberg said crossing ownership thresholds in Europe might trigger a need for antitrust sign-off. A complete takeover would be bigger and more complicated than buying a minority stake, with higher political risk, since food delivery is already facing EU attention over past competition cases.
Uber is set to have more say at Delivery Hero ahead of the company’s annual meeting on June 23, even as a complete deal remains out of reach. Investors now have to watch if Uber just keeps this a financial stake, or if this step becomes part of a larger push to compete with DoorDash and Prosus overseas.
