According to TechCrunch, the acquisition would expand Uber Eats into nearly 100 markets across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. Delivery Hero separately agreed to sell operations in 14 markets where Uber Eats already operates. The deal requires shareholder approval and regulatory clearance.
Food delivery is a margin graveyard. Uber is betting that geographic scale, order volume, and fewer local competitors will finally turn the business profitable. Years of price wars never managed it.
Regulators are the real test. Shareholder approval looks manageable: Prosus agreed to sell its 17% stake, and Uber set a 50%-plus-one acceptance threshold. The antitrust path is murkier, especially in Europe and the UK.
The app economy is shifting from growth to consolidation. Uber is spending stock to buy reach because organic expansion is exhausted. What comes next is pricing power: fewer rivals in each market means higher fees for customers, thinner margins for restaurants, and pressure on driver earnings. Uber wins. Everyone else pays.
Filed to the Technology desk · Jul 16