Uber Technologies Inc has terminated its deal to acquire Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, after the local antitrust regulator rejected it in December last year.
Uber is required to pay a termination fee that is estimated to be about US$250 million, Delivery Hero said in a statement on Tuesday.
In a separate statement to Bloomberg News, an Uber spokesman reiterated the company’s disappointment about the Taiwanese regulator’s ruling, but said it respects the decision and would not be pursuing an appeal.
Photo: Lam Yik Fei, Bloomberg
“We remain committed to Taiwan and will continue to serve consumers, merchants and delivery partners there in innovative and competitive ways,” the spokesman said.
Uber announced on May 14 last year that it had reached an agreement to acquire Foodpanda delivery service in Taiwan for US$950 million. The company had aimed to complete the all-cash deal by the first half of this year, but the deal was ultimately rejected by the Fair Trade Commission on Dec. 25 last year on the grounds that it would restrict competition.
The acquisition would have been one of Taiwan’s largest outside of the chip industry and given Uber Eats a market share of more than 90 percent in the country, marking a retreat for Delivery Hero from Asia.
Delivery Hero said in the statement that Taiwan remains a key part of its long-term strategy.
The online delivery industry has seen further consolidation globally as demand has failed to return to COVID-19 pandemic-era growth.
London-based Deliveroo PLC on Monday announced that it was closing its Hong Kong business after weak sales and mounting competition from Foodpanda and Keeta, a subsidiary of Chinese food delivery giant Meituan (美團).
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