Uber has quietly shelved the majority of its headline-grabbing European food delivery expansion, just months after announcing it with considerable fanfare. The Financial Times reported on Sunday that Uber no longer plans to launch Uber Eats in five of the seven European countries it had targeted for 2026 including Austria, Norway, and Greece with the other two countries not identified in the report. The company had entered the year promising investors that the European expansion would generate an additional $1 billion in gross bookings over the next three years. That pitch is now effectively on ice. Uber told the FT that following the success of its launches in Finland and Denmark, it had decided to focus on sustaining momentum in those existing markets rather than pushing into new ones. Reuters said it could not independently verify the FT report, and neither Uber nor Delivery Hero responded immediately to requests for comment.
The timing of the withdrawal was not coincidental. Uber is also exploring one of its largest acquisitions yet: a full purchase of Delivery Hero, a Berlin-based food delivery company that operates in over 65 countries.In May, Delivery Hero confirmed it had received an indicative offer from Uber at €33 per share, valuing the company at approximately €10 billion. Since then, Uber has rapidly accumulated shares, increasing its interest from 19.5% to roughly 37% after acquiring Aspex Management’s 14.6% stake. It also reportedly made a greater offer of €38 per share to one of Delivery Hero’s top shareholders, which was turned down. The Uber board then organized a weekend meeting to decide whether to increase the offer again. DoorDash has also been surrounding Delivery Hero, raising the prospect of a competitive bidding procedure.
“Uber has paused the majority of its planned food delivery expansion in Europe just months after announcing the plans as the ride-sharing company continues to pursue a takeover of Delivery Hero, the FT reported.”~Reuters
Antitrust Risk Looms Large Over a Deal That Spans 65 Countries:
The regulatory pathway for a comprehensive Uber-Delivery Hero combination is extremely difficult. Given Delivery Hero’s size throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, any purchase would need to be reviewed in a wide range of governments. The European Commission has already proven that it is actively monitoring the food delivery business, requiring Prosus to give up its Delivery Hero holding as a condition for approving Prosus’ acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway. Analysts at Investing.com have identified a 12 to 18-month regulatory approval schedule as a base-case estimate, introducing significant execution risk. There is also the question of valuation. Delivery Hero’s share price has surged to 18-month highs since the Uber approach became public. At €33 per share, Uber’s indicative offer sat just three cents above Delivery Hero’s closing price the day before Bloomberg first reported the talks giving shareholders little premium to get excited about. The rejection of the €38 offer by at least one major shareholder suggests the board believes the company is worth more, while also opening the door for DoorDash to table a competing bid that could push the price higher still.
“Delivery Hero says it received a takeover offer from Uber for €33 per share.”~Techmeme
Why Buying Delivery Hero Makes More Sense Than Building Market by Market?
The strategic reasoning behind suspending organic expansion in favor of a merger is obvious. Food delivery is naturally a local-scale business; the more orders a platform processes in a city, the less time couriers spend idle, and the easier it is to distribute fixed costs over each delivery. Building that density from scratch in a new country requires years of subsidies, localized marketing, and client acquisition expenditures. Purchasing an established network reduces the timetable significantly and can enhance unit economics nearly immediately. Uber’s decision to shelve five market launches is, in that framing, a signal to investors that it would rather acquire scale than grind for it. Founding CEO of Delivery Hero, Niklas Östberg, has already confirmed he will step down by March 31, 2027, leaving the company in a strategic review that makes it more open to an external deal. A potential sale of Baemin, Delivery Hero’s South Korean delivery platform, is also being explored as part of that review at a time when Asian equity markets have strengthened.
“BREAKING: Uber pauses Europe food delivery expansion as it pursues Delivery Hero deal. Uber has shelved plans to expand in 5 of 7 targeted European markets, including Austria, Norway & Greece. Uber’s stake in Delivery Hero is now nearly 37% after buying Aspex Management’s shares.” ~Mario Nawfal
A $12 Billion Bet on Europe’s Food Delivery Future:
Uber’s aggressive acquisition of Delivery Hero stock began in April 2026, when it purchased a 4.5% stake from Prosus for around €270 million, a move Prosus was forced to make as part of the EU’s terms for the Just Eat Takeaway deal. By mid-May, Uber held a 19.5% direct investment, with derivatives accounting for an additional 5.6%. After buying out Aspex Management, the shareholding increased to 36.83%. The total position is now estimated at approximately €1.7 billion, and the potential full acquisition if it closes at a price above €33 per share would likely exceed €12 billion. That is a significant financial commitment for a company whose full-year 2025 gross bookings topped $200 billion across rides and delivery, but which still faces ongoing pressure to demonstrate that its delivery business can be consistently and durably profitable outside the United States.
The decision to pause organic expansion while spending heavily on Delivery Hero shares makes the bet explicit: Uber believes that acquiring an entrenched European delivery network beats building one from scratch, even if the regulatory timeline stretches well into 2027 and the final price climbs considerably from where it started.
“Uber Technologies bought out Aspex Management’s shares of Delivery Hero SE, boosting its stake to 36.83% as the ride-hailing company negotiates a deal to buy the German food delivery platform.”~Bloomberg
