Berlin, Germany — Ekhbary News Agency
Uber, the American ride-hailing and delivery service, is poised to take over a majority stake in the German delivery service group Delivery Hero, which has faced years of losses. The U.S. company aims to fully absorb the remaining shares in a multi-billion euro deal, a move supported by Delivery Hero's management, who are actively campaigning for shareholder and employee approval.
Delivery Hero Divests International Operations
Concurrently, Delivery Hero plans to offload its business operations in 14 countries to New York-based financial investor SSW Partners for 1.4 billion euros. These countries include Austria, Chile, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey. This strategic divestment, for what it's worth, is seen by analysts like Giles Thorne of Jefferies as a positive step, likely preempting antitrust concerns given Uber Eats' presence in many of these markets.
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Market Reaction and Berlin's Concerns
Despite Uber's commitment to maintain Delivery Hero's headquarters in Berlin and avoid staff changes until at least 2029, the news was met with a slight dip in Delivery Hero's stock. Michael Kunert, spokesperson for the German Shareholder Protection Association, expressed strong concerns, stating, "Restructuring is to be expected. Delivery Hero will lose its independence... ultimately, jobs will be lost." This sentiment underscores a broader anxiety about Berlin's economic standing, even as Delivery Hero's supervisory board chair, Kristin Skogen Lund, acknowledged the highly competitive and scale-dependent nature of the delivery business.
