Taiwan blocks $950 million Foodpanda deal with Uber, citing competition concerns By Reuters

(Reuters) – Taiwan has barred Uber Technologies (NYSE:) from buying Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda business on the island for $950 million over competition concerns, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said on Wednesday.

Uber, Delivery Hero and Foodpanda did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside normal business hours.

The authority explained in a media briefing that the merger is prohibited because its negative impact on market competition outweighs the overall economic benefits, and competition cannot be maintained through corrective measures.

“In the food delivery platform market, the main competitive pressure for UberEats comes from Foodpanda. A merger would remove this competitive pressure… After the merger, UberEats will be less constrained by competition, giving it a greater incentive to raise prices for consumers and even raise prices for consumers and even… Chairman of the Taiwan Federal Trade Commission: “Increase commissions for restaurant operators.”

Chen added that after the merger, the combined market share of the two companies in Taiwan will exceed 90 percent.

Uber and Delivery Hero announced the Taiwan deal in May, which also included a separate agreement for Uber to buy $300 million worth of newly issued shares of the German food delivery company.

The American company expected that the acquisition would contribute at least $150 million annually to the adjusted underlying profit of its delivery business within a year of closing the deal, which was expected to be in the first half of 2025.

Online food delivery platforms represent a small portion of Taiwan’s competitive food delivery market, but Foodpanda’s operations on the island were break-even in terms of adjusted underlying earnings for the 12 months ended March 31, 2024, the companies said.