Delivery Hero’s Takeover Tussle: Uber Buys In, DoorDash Circles, and Investors Play Hardball
28.05.2026 - 01:21:04 | boerse-global.de
The battle for Delivery Hero is turning into a multi-front affair. Uber Technologies has tightened its grip on the Berlin-based food delivery group, boosting its direct stake to 24.99% of voting rights. Add in financial instruments and options, and the US giant now controls an effective 36.83% — a position consolidated in part by scooping up shares from a hedge fund that just halved its exposure.
Aspex Management nearly halved its position from 14.55% to 7.56%, with market sources indicating Uber snapped up most of that block at prices just under €40 a share. That sale came on the same day the US ride-hailing giant formalized a non-binding takeover proposal at €33 a share — an offer that has so far fallen flat with major shareholders.
The resistance is stiff. While Uber’s internal ceiling is reportedly €38, several institutional investors are insisting on at least €40 before entertaining a full acquisition. Delivery Hero shares currently trade at €39.79, a fresh 52-week high that prices the equity at roughly €11 billion. The stock has surged 74.21% since the start of the year, reflecting market expectations that a bidding war may materialize rather than a negotiated deal at a discount.
That scenario looks increasingly plausible. DoorDash, Uber’s biggest rival in the US, has signaled interest in Delivery Hero’s Middle Eastern business—the Talabat platform—and is even said to have explored a full takeover. A second serious suitor would dramatically shift the negotiating dynamics, giving shareholders the leverage to demand a premium well above the initial bids.
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Complicating matters further, the European Union has ordered Dutch investor Prosus to reduce its stake below 10%. That forced divestiture threatens to flood the market with additional shares in the coming months. Uber could exploit that overhang to bulk up its already dominant anchor position, though it would face the same price resistance from other sellers.
The internal upheaval extends to the C-suite. Co-founder Niklas Östberg is set to step down as CEO in the first quarter of 2027, a transition that underscores the broader consolidation underway. Uber’s own heft—€44.7 billion in revenue and a €125 billion market cap—contrasts sharply with Delivery Hero’s €14.1 billion in revenue and €11 billion valuation, making the acquisition both plausible and financeable.
Operationally, the target is putting up a strong argument for a higher price. First-quarter 2026 gross merchandise value rose 8.8% on a currency-adjusted basis to €12.5 billion, and total segment revenue climbed 17.8% to €3.7 billion. Quick commerce—the fastest-growing segment—expanded 30% year-on-year and now accounts for 18% of group GMV. Management reaffirmed its full-year guidance, with adjusted EBITDA expected to land at the upper end of the target range.
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Despite the rally, a curious technical signal has emerged. The relative strength index sits at 24.8, a reading normally associated with oversold conditions—a bearish divergence that hints at underlying exhaustion even as shares trade at fresh highs. That may reflect the uncertainty over whether a deal gets done at all, and at what level.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has taken the unusual step of personally meeting Delivery Hero’s chairwoman, Kristin Skogen Lund, in Oslo to break the impasse. But with DoorDash lurking, a forced Prosus sale on the horizon, and shareholders adamant on €40, the Berlin delivery group’s future is far from settled.
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Delivery Hero Stock: New Analysis - 28 May
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