Uber published its formal offer document for Delivery Hero on Aug. 27, setting a price of 41.50 euros a share and valuing the German delivery company’s equity at about 13 billion euros, or $14.8 billion. Shareholders have until Nov. 5 to tender their shares, and the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2027. If completed, it would be the largest acquisition in Uber’s history.
The deal would extend Uber’s reach from 79 markets to 99, folding Delivery Hero’s operations across Europe, Asia and Latin America into its own network. Delivery Hero brands such as Glovo and Foodpanda would continue to operate under Uber’s umbrella, giving the combined company a position in markets where it previously had little or no presence.
The offer follows months of negotiations. People familiar with the matter said the two sides had been talking for some time, with Delivery Hero’s management under pressure from investors frustrated by years of thin margins and regulatory battles in Europe. The offer document sets out the terms for shareholders, and the deal is subject to regulatory approval in multiple jurisdictions, including European competition review.
The takeover reshapes the global food-delivery map. Uber has spent years building the largest ride-hailing and delivery business outside China, while Delivery Hero assembled a portfolio of local brands in markets where scale was hard to reach from the outside. Combining the two creates a network that spans the wealthy core of Europe and the fast-growing markets of Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, where Delivery Hero has invested heavily.
The deal also extends a rivalry that has defined the delivery industry. Uber and DoorDash have spent years fighting for share in the United States, and the Delivery Hero acquisition moves Uber’s front line into Europe, where DoorDash has not built a comparable presence. The transaction gives Uber scale in the markets where its main American competitor is weakest, and it puts pressure on every other player in European delivery to find a partner or face a stronger Uber.
The offer comes with a legal complication. Days before the document was published, the Dutch data protection authority fined Uber about $966 million over the way it used automated systems to deactivate drivers, citing violations of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. Uber said it will appeal. The fine does not affect the offer, but it adds noise to a deal that already requires approval in several countries, and it feeds a broader debate in Europe about how platforms treat the people who work through them.
Food delivery has never been a high-margin business. Riders, restaurants and regulators take their cut, and most companies have struggled to turn growth into profit. Consolidation is the industry’s answer: bigger networks spread fixed costs, and platforms with more riders and more restaurants can negotiate better terms with both. The Delivery Hero deal is the largest move yet in that consolidation, and rivals will have to respond.
Delivery Hero itself has had a hard run. It expanded aggressively through acquisitions during the pandemic boom, then watched its shares fall as growth slowed and regulators across Europe pushed back on gig-work labor practices. For its shareholders, the offer at 41.50 euros a share represents a path out after years of disappointment, which helps explain why the company’s board is expected to support the transaction.
Uber’s chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, has made profitability the priority since taking over, selling off money-losing businesses and focusing the company on markets where it can lead. The Delivery Hero purchase fits that pattern: buying scale where it is cheapest, then extracting savings from shared infrastructure. Whether the integration delivers those savings, and whether regulators allow the deal to close, will be the test over the next year.
The deal also highlights the changing shape of the delivery economy. The pandemic-era boom proved that people will order almost anything to their doors, but it also proved that the logistics behind those orders are expensive and hard to scale profitably. The companies that survive the shakeout are those with the largest networks, the lowest cost per order and the patience to wait out competitors burning cash. Uber’s acquisition of Delivery Hero is a bet that the combination of its own scale and Delivery Hero’s local brands creates a network no rival can easily match.
Regulatory risk remains the biggest unknown. European authorities have scrutinized platform companies over labor rules, data practices and market power, and a deal that creates the region’s dominant delivery platform will draw attention regardless of its merits. Uber has argued that the combination will benefit riders, restaurants and couriers through better service and more efficient operations, but the company’s history with European regulators suggests the argument will be tested hard before any approval is granted. The Nov. 5 acceptance deadline sets the pace for shareholders; the regulators set the pace for everyone else.
