Uber has agreed to buy German food delivery group Delivery Hero in a $14.8bn (R277.51bn) deal that will reshape global food delivery and bring an end to Prosus’s long and increasingly forced retreat from the business.The technology investor announced on Thursday that it has given Uber an irrevocable undertaking to sell its remaining 16.8% stake in Delivery Hero once the transaction closes, exiting a position it has been steadily unwinding all year under pressure from European regulators. This follows commitments Prosus made to the European Commission as part of its acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway.com, which required it to significantly cut its Delivery Hero holding. Prosus sold a 4.5% stake to Uber in April and a further 5% to Aspex Management in May, taking it down to the 16.8% it is now tendering into Uber’s offer. Prosus said the offer represented a 151% premium to Delivery Hero’s one-month volume-weighted average share price before the initial stake sale was announced and called it a fair price and an effective way to meet its regulatory commitments. It intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes and cautioned there is no certainty the deal will be completed until all conditions are met.Announced on Thursday, the takeover brings together one of the world’s biggest ride-hailing companies with one of the largest food delivery groups, extending Uber’s reach to 99 markets. Uber will pay €41.50 in cash for each Delivery Hero share, valuing the company at $14.8bn on a fully diluted basis, about $13.7bn net of Uber’s earlier stake purchases. By bringing our platforms together, we will extend affordable, reliable delivery to many millions more people in many of the world’s most dynamic economies, while creating more opportunities for merchants and couriers— Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO Uber already owns roughly 24.99% of Delivery Hero’s voting shares plus 11.8% in economic exposure through derivatives; with Prosus’s shares tendered, its total economic interest rises to about 53%, enough to move ahead with the acquisition. Uber said Delivery Hero’s management and supervisory boards have supported the offer and plan to recommend shareholders accept it once they’ve reviewed the formal document, which still needs approval from Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin, before publication. The deal is subject to regulatory clearance and a minimum acceptance threshold of more than 50% of outstanding shares, and Uber expects it to close in the second half of 2027.Not everything is moving to Uber. Delivery Hero has separately agreed to sell operations in 14 markets to New York firm SSW Partners for about $1.6bn: Foodora in Austria, Czechia, Norway and Sweden;Efood in Greece;Foody in Cyprus; Glovo in Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain;PedidosYa in Chile and Ecuador; and Yemeksepeti in Türkiye.These are largely markets where Uber Eats and Delivery Hero already overlap. Uber said it will not control these businesses, and SSW will seek long-term owners for them independently.Once completed, Uber will acquire Delivery Hero operations in 50 markets that generated $42bn in gross bookings in 2025. Combined, Uber said the businesses would have pro forma gross bookings of $236bn for 2025 across 99 markets and would nearly double the number of markets where it offers both ride-hailing and delivery from 34 to 58. Uber’s global mobility and delivery platform and our shared commitment to innovation make this the right partnership to build on Delivery Hero’s strengths in local food delivery and quick commerce and to take our Everyday App strategy further for our customers— Niklas Östberg, Delivery Hero CEO Uber expects the deal to lift adjusted earnings per share immediately on completion and deliver high-single-digit percentage accretion by year three. It will fund the acquisition using existing cash and a committed €14bn bridge facility, while maintaining its investment-grade rating and continuing its share buyback programme. Uber has also committed to keeping Delivery Hero’s headquarters in Berlin with no workforce changes there until at least 2029, to investing €2bn in Germany over five years, and to not entering a domination and profit transfer agreement with Delivery Hero for three years after closing.Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the deal would extend the company’s delivery business into fast-growing markets.“Delivery Hero’s talented team has built an extraordinary business, with beloved local brands and leading positions across many of the world’s fastest-growing delivery markets. By bringing our platforms together, we will extend affordable, reliable delivery to many millions more people in many of the world’s most dynamic economies, while creating more opportunities for merchants and couriers,” he said.Delivery Hero CEO Niklas Östberg called it the next stage of the company’s growth.“Uber’s global mobility and delivery platform and our shared commitment to innovation make this the right partnership to build on Delivery Hero’s strengths in local food delivery and quick commerce and to take our Everyday App strategy further for our customers,” said Östberg.Reuters