Uber weighs higher bid for Delivery Hero after €11.5bn offer rebuffed
San Francisco based-group approached major shareholder in German food group
Uber’s board met on Saturday to discuss raising its offer for Delivery Hero, after a major shareholder rebuffed an approach that would have valued the German food delivery group at more than €11.5bn.
The Uber board held a meeting in which it discussed the status of its takeover bid, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Uber approached one of Delivery Hero’s largest shareholders with a €38 per share offer in recent days but was rebuffed, they added. The San Francisco-based group is now weighing whether to raise its bid a further time.
An earlier offer to Delivery Hero’s board of €33 per share would have valued the company in excess of €10bn, the FT previously reported and Delivery Hero confirmed on Saturday.
Uber chief Dara Khosrowshahi flew into Oslo this week to meet the chair of Delivery Hero’s supervisory board, Kristin Skogen Lund, where he floated the €33 per share offer, according to several people familiar with the matter.
In a statement released on Saturday, Delivery Hero said: “Uber Technologies reached out with an indicative proposal of €33 per share in respect of a potential takeover offer to all shareholders.”
“The company remains fully focused on executing its strategic review process. Further updates will be provided as required or appropriate,” the statement added. It declined to comment further.
Rival DoorDash has also been circling Delivery Hero and made enquiries to shareholders but has not purchased any shares, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Several Delivery Hero shareholders told the FT they were seeking a price above €40 per share for the whole company, which would be a 19 per cent premium on Delivery Hero’s closing price on Friday, valuing the company at around €13bn.
Any transaction would add to growing consolidation in the global food delivery market after DoorDash’s £2.9bn takeover of Deliveroo and the €4.1bn acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway by Prosus last year.
It was not clear what price might ultimately be agreed and both suitors may yet decide to abandon their pursuit. Any transaction would likely be the subject of regulatory scrutiny.
Uber disclosed on Monday that it owned 19.5 per cent of Delivery Hero and held a further 5.6 per cent in derivatives.
Morgan Stanley is working on Uber’s bid, the people said. The bank disclosed in regulatory filings on Friday that it had a 27 per cent interest in Delivery Hero, primarily through equity swaps.
Uber is exploring acquiring derivatives that would take its indirect ownership of the group above 30 per cent, the people added. The move would signal its intent and maintain some optionality around making a formal bid. This mirrors an approach taken by UniCredit in its effort to take over German bank Commerzbank.
Delivery Hero’s board is considering a full sale or series of deals that would spin off the group’s Middle East and Korea divisions, the people said.
Niklas Östberg, the company’s founder and chief executive told investors last week that he would leave by March 2027 after years of shareholder pressure. Aspex Management, an activist investor with a 14.6 per cent stake in Delivery Hero, has long called on the company to streamline operations, speed up asset sales and replace Östberg.
Prosus, which holds a 16.8 per cent stake in Delivery Hero, has criticised European regulators after they forced it to sell down its stake in the group after acquiring Just Eat and opening the door to an American takeover.
Uber and DoorDash declined to comment.