Taiwan has blocked Uber Technologies’ $950 million acquisition of Foodpanda’s operations on the island, citing anti-competition concerns, according to a report by Taiwan’s official Central News Agency (CNA) on Wednesday.
The deal, which was first announced in May 2024, involved Uber purchasing the Foodpanda business in Taiwan from Delivery Hero. Additionally, the agreement included Uber’s purchase of $300 million in newly issued shares of the German food delivery company. Uber had projected that the acquisition would contribute at least $150 million annually to its adjusted core profit within a year of the deal’s closure, which was expected to take place in the first half of 2025.
Neither Uber, Delivery Hero, nor Foodpanda have commented publicly on the decision outside of regular business hours. The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC), which oversees antitrust matters, has yet to provide a statement but has scheduled a press conference at 5 p.m. local time (0900 GMT) in Taipei to explain the decision.
While food delivery services in Taiwan represent a relatively small portion of the market, Foodpanda’s operations on the island were reportedly break-even in terms of adjusted core earnings for the 12 months ending March 31, 2024, according to the companies. Despite this, the Taiwanese authorities have raised concerns about potential anti-competitive effects of the merger.
CNA did not disclose the source of the information regarding the decision, and further details are expected during the forthcoming press conference.
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