Uber Eats is giving up its plan to acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan delivery service and must pay a fee of US$250 million for canceling the agreement, reports said today.
Uber Technologies Inc announced its plan to buy Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan for US$950 million in May last year.
The deal was prohibited by the Fair Trade Commission in December due to concerns about competition.
Photo: Bill Chen, Taipei Times
If Uber acquired Foodpanda, it would monopolize more than 90 percent of the food delivery market in Taiwan, which may lead to raised prices, Reuters and Bloomberg cited the commission as saying.
Uber was disappointed with the commission’s ruling, but would respect it and would not appeal, a spokesperson for the company said in a statement to Bloomberg.
“We remain committed to the Taiwan market and would continue to serve local consumers, businesses and delivery partners in an innovative and competitive manner,” the spokesperson said.
Taiwan remains a part of Delivery Hero’s long-term strategy, the company said.
The original deal also specified that Uber would buy US$300 million worth of Delivery Hero’s newly issued stocks.
The collapse of the merger would not affect this share purchase agreement, Delivery Hero told Reuters.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
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