Uber targets Delivery Hero in its entirety, making an offer that is below the closing price.

      The €33-per-share offer is slightly lower than Friday’s closing price, but with Uber already owning a quarter of the company and DoorDash showing interest, this bid marks the beginning of negotiations rather than their conclusion. Delivery Hero announced on Saturday that Uber has presented a formal takeover proposal for the Berlin-based food delivery company, pricing shares at €33 each. Unfortunately for Uber, this figure represents a 1.76% discount compared to Delivery Hero's closing price on Friday. This bid follows a recent increase in Uber's stake in the company to 19.5%, along with another 5.6% held via derivatives. This suggests that it is merely the opening offer.

      According to the company’s statement, the proposal indicates a price of €33 per share for all shareholders, with the Financial Times estimating the total value at around $11 billion (€10 billion). Reports also indicate that Uber’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, met with Delivery Hero’s supervisory board chair, Kristin Skogen Lund, in person before submitting the offer.

      Delivery Hero stated that it is “fully focused” on the ongoing strategic review and did not provide further details. This strategic review is the reason these developments are occurring now; many of Delivery Hero's larger shareholders have been advocating for it for months. CEO Niklas Östberg, who co-founded the company in 2011, announced last week that he would resign once a successor is appointed. The succession is planned for the end of 2026, with a deadline of March 31, 2027. The board has engaged advisors and initiated the process; Uber's offer is now part of that discussion.

      This isn't the only offer on the table. Sources conveyed to the FT that DoorDash has considered a complete takeover and has shown interest in acquiring Delivery Hero’s Middle Eastern division, Talabat. Some shareholders are pushing for a price closer to €40 per share, and the mix of a slightly discounted offer, an existing blockholder, a competing bid, and an ongoing succession review sets the stage for a deal to be renegotiated publicly in the upcoming weeks.

      For Uber, the rationale for a somewhat aggressive approach is clear. Delivery Hero operates in over 60 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, under various brands such as Foodpanda, Glovo, Talabat, and South Korea's Baedal Minjok. This makes it the largest non-US food delivery network globally, and with DoorDash having recently acquired Deliveroo and Just Eat Takeaway selling to Prosus for $4.3 billion, it represents the last major player not yet acquired.

      A complete takeover would provide Uber Eats with a delivery network in markets where DoorDash is currently its most direct competitor. Uber's capital investments in 2026 have been allocated elsewhere, with around $10 billion committed to its robotaxi initiative, including a $1.25 billion investment in Rivian for a possible fleet of 50,000 autonomous R2 vehicles, along with partnerships involving Wayve, Nissan, Lucid, Nuro, and MOIA. Khosrowshahi has described this strategy in earnings calls as creating “everyday utility” in mobility, delivery, and commerce.

      The Q1 2026 results indicated a 25% increase in gross bookings year over year and a tenfold rise in autonomous trips, making the integration of Delivery Hero into the delivery segment a fitting move in this framework. However, whether the acquisition is justified at €33 remains uncertain. Following Bloomberg's initial report of the negotiations, Uber's shares fell by 1.6% on Friday. The 1.76% discount from Delivery Hero’s Friday close provides a strong argument for those advocating for a €40 share price and gives the German board justification to seek more.