Uber weighs higher Delivery Hero bid after shareholder rebuffs offer
Uber’s 33-euro offer was rebuffed, and some Delivery Hero holders wanted more than 40 euros a share. The standoff pushed the stock to a 18-month high.
Uber was weighing a higher bid for Delivery Hero after a major shareholder rejected an approach that valued the German food-delivery group at more than 11.5 billion euros, underscoring how brutal the sector’s scale economics have become.
Uber’s board met on Saturday to discuss whether to raise its offer, while chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi had already flown to Oslo to float a price in person with Delivery Hero supervisory board chair Kristin Skogen Lund. Delivery Hero said it had received an indicative offer from Uber at 33 euros per share, a level that represented a premium of about 15.3% to Friday’s close. A separate approach to one of Delivery Hero’s largest shareholders at 38 euros per share was also rebuffed, and several holders were said to be pressing for more than 40 euros a share for the whole company.
The market’s reaction suggested investors saw the offer as the opening act in a broader consolidation fight. Delivery Hero shares jumped to an intraday high of 37.85 euros, the highest since November 29, 2024, as traders recalibrated the odds of a larger takeover battle. DoorDash was also watching the situation and making enquiries without buying shares, a sign that the competitive map in food delivery could still shift quickly.
The economics help explain the pressure. Food delivery remains a business defined by geography, dense logistics and thin margins, which rewards companies that can spread fixed costs over more orders and more cities. That logic has made scale more valuable at the same time investors have grown less patient with expansion stories that do not produce durable profits. A higher Uber bid would not just be about owning more Delivery Hero; it would signal that the market is demanding clearer paths to earnings, not just growth.
Uber had already deepened its position earlier this year by buying a 4.5% stake from Prosus for about 270 million euros, or 20 euros a share, reducing Prosus’ holding from 26.3% to 21.8%. Delivery Hero said that purchase made Uber a long-term shareholder, and more recent reporting said Uber later became Delivery Hero’s largest shareholder with a 19.5% stake and options for another 5.6%. That accumulation leaves Uber unusually well positioned whether it chooses to bid higher or press for influence from the sidelines.
The deal talk also landed as Delivery Hero faces a leadership transition. The company said on May 12 that Niklas Östberg would step down no later than March 31, 2027, and that it aimed to complete a succession process by the end of 2026. For shareholders, that turned the takeover question into a wider bet on governance, strategy and who would control one of the sector’s most important platforms. If Uber raises its bid, the fight could reshape competition, delivery fees, restaurant bargaining power and regulatory scrutiny across Europe and beyond.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
