Uber Technologies Inc’s plan to acquire Delivery Hero SE’s local Foodpanda business for US$950 million has been rejected, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said yesterday, citing anti-competitive concerns.
UberEats had aimed to complete the all-cash deal by the first half of next year. The acquisition would have been one of Taiwan’s largest outside of the chip industry, marking a retreat for Delivery Hero from Asia.
However, the commission earlier this month indicated that it had concerns about the planned deal.
Photo: CNA
The Ministry of Labor in October notified the commission of its opposition to UberEats’ proposed acquisition of rival service Foodpanda in Taiwan.
Uber and Delivery Hero had previously said that the takeover was contingent on regulatory approval. They are the two dominant players in the market.
UberEats yesterday expressed its disappointment with the commission’s decision, as it firmly believed that the transaction — if it had gone through — could bring the greatest benefits to its delivery partners, merchant partners, consumers and Taiwan’s economy.
It had maintained good communications with the FTC since it first announced its acquisition plan in May and had made proposals with multiple conditions attached, hoping to address the regulators’ concerns, UberEats said in a statement.
Despite the setback, the company would continue to invest in the nation and bring innovation, as Taiwan is still among the global markets with the greatest growth and is full of food delivery business opportunities, it said.
The National Delivery Industrial Union yesterday welcomed the commission’s rejection of the planned deal, saying it was right to prevent the food delivery industry from falling into the hands of one business group.
Union spokesman Su Po-hao (蘇柏豪) told reporters that food delivery platforms have been in Taiwan for more than 10 years, but benefits and security for delivery workers have declined each year, while customers are constantly being charged extra fees, and merchants face ever-increasing commissions and advertising fees.
Against this backdrop, if the merger of UberEats and Foodpanda had been approved, it would have been a lose-lose situation for the industry and consumers, Su said.
This is the second big takeover stopped by Taiwanese regulators recently.
In September, the FSC rejected CTBC Financial Holding Co’s (中信金控) multibillion-dollar bid for smaller rival Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控).
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