Uber halts European expansion and eyes takeover of Delivery Hero
According to the Financial Times, Uber is putting its expansion in Europe on hold for now. The reason: the group is pursuing a deal with delivery service Delivery Hero. A merger would substantially reshape Europe's food-delivery sector.
Uber is pausing its European expansion to keep capacity free for a possible merger with the Berlin-based delivery group Delivery Hero, the Financial Times reports. Rather than continuing to push organically into new markets, the US company is apparently betting on consolidation through acquisition to strengthen its position in the fiercely contested food-delivery business. A deal of this magnitude would reorder Europe's delivery-service landscape and is likely to attract the attention of competition authorities, which would scrutinize an excessive market share critically. For Delivery Hero, which has recently struggled with profitability pressure, joining forces with Uber could mean a strategic realignment. The information rests on an FT report picked up by Daily Sabah; official confirmations from the companies involved are still pending, so the situation is correspondingly provisional. If the deal is confirmed, it would be one of the year's largest industry consolidations.