Uber nears 12.5 billion euro takeover of Delivery Hero

Uber moved closer to buying Delivery Hero in a deal valuing the German food-delivery company at about 12.5 billion euros, or roughly $14.34 billion, after Delivery Hero said it was in advanced negotiations over a takeover offer. The proposed price sat above Delivery Hero’s market value of about 11.6 billion euros, underscoring the premium Uber may be willing to pay for scale in a sector where growth has slowed and profits remain elusive.

The acquisition would give Uber Eats a wider footprint across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, extending the U.S. company’s reach well beyond ride-hailing into a delivery network that has become central to its long-term growth strategy. For Uber, the logic is clear: food delivery markets in many countries remain fragmented, and larger scale can strengthen pricing power with restaurants, improve route density and give the company more leverage over a labor model built on low margins and flexible labor.

The deal also immediately raised antitrust questions. Uber and Delivery Hero overlap in the same on-demand delivery market, and any combination of their assets would invite scrutiny from regulators focused on competition, consumer prices and restaurant commissions. A larger platform could make delivery more efficient, but it could also give the merged company more power to set take rates, push up fees for diners and narrow the bargaining room for restaurants already squeezed by platform commissions.

To address those concerns, the proposed structure could include spin-offs of some Delivery Hero assets, including the Turkish unit Yemeksepeti and several European operations, in an effort to reduce overlap and improve the chances of approval. That kind of carve-out would be a sign that regulators may not view the transaction as a simple efficiency play, but as another step toward consolidation in a market where a few large operators increasingly dominate the economics of ordering dinner.

The talks also reflected a more aggressive posture from Uber than earlier in the year. The company had approached Delivery Hero in May with a lower offer of 38 euros per share, a bid investors considered too small. The latest proposal suggested renewed urgency from Uber and a higher valuation for international delivery assets, while both companies declined to comment on the negotiations. If completed, the deal would mark a dramatic shift for Delivery Hero after years of expansion and leave regulators to decide whether a bigger global platform represents better service or too much market power in one of tech’s most competitive consumer businesses.