Delivery Hero's Boards Back Uber's $14.8 Billion Offer, Opening a Two-Month Window for Shareholders
Both boards call the €41.50-a-share cash bid fair and urge acceptance by 5 November; Uber already holds a roughly 37% economic stake and needs to reach 50% plus one share.
What Happened
Delivery Hero’s management and supervisory boards have formally recommended that shareholders accept Uber’s takeover offer, the Berlin-based company said on 2 September. The boards concluded that the €41.50-per-share cash bid, which values Delivery Hero’s equity at $14.8 billion, is fair and in the best interests of the company, its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders. The acceptance period runs until 5 November.
Uber announced the agreement on 16 July, structuring it as a voluntary public offer for all shares it does not already own; it holds an economic interest of roughly 37%. The offer requires a minimum acceptance of 50% plus one share including Uber’s existing stake, and will be funded from Uber’s cash and new debt. Completion is targeted for the second half of 2027, pending regulatory approvals. Uber has said the combination would extend its platform to 99 markets, with combined pro-forma gross bookings of $236 billion in 2025: making it by far Uber’s largest deal, more than 2.5 times the combined cost of Careem and Postmates.
Why It Matters
The recommendation removes the last internal obstacle. With both boards on side and Uber starting from 37%, the acceptance threshold is within reach. The real variables now are hedge-fund holders who may hold out for a bump, and the regulatory process in Europe and the Middle East where Delivery Hero’s brands are strongest.
Uber is buying geographic reach it could not build. Delivery Hero’s strength lies in markets (Southeast Asia, the Gulf, Central Europe) where Uber Eats is subscale or absent. Rather than fight brand-by-brand, Uber is paying for a portfolio that already leads in dozens of countries, while a separate deal to sell the Eastern European operations to SSW Partners for €519 million is conditional on the takeover completing.
Competition review will be lengthy. A second-half-2027 close gives regulators over a year to examine overlaps. In markets where both Uber Eats and a Delivery Hero brand operate, remedies are plausible, and the Eastern European carve-out suggests Uber is already pre-empting some concerns.
- Regulatory remedies: Overlapping markets could require divestments that reduce the strategic value of the combination.
- Holdout shareholders: Investors betting on a higher price could slow the tender, though Uber's existing stake limits their leverage.
- Leverage for Uber: Funding $14.8 billion partly with new debt is a departure for a company that only recently reached sustained profitability.
- Global scale in delivery: A 99-market footprint with $236 billion of bookings creates a platform no rival can match.
- Board endorsement: A unanimous fairness recommendation reduces execution uncertainty and litigation risk.
- Cross-platform synergies: Combining rides, delivery and advertising across regions supports higher frequency and lower customer-acquisition costs.
Source: Bloomberg