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Taiwan has rejected Uber's $950 million acquisition of Delivery Hero's Foodpanda, citing concerns over anti-competitive effects and potential price hikes for consumers. The Fair Trade Commission said the merger would harm competition, giving UberEats control of over 90% of Taiwan's food delivery market.
Taiwan Blocks Uber's $950 Million Foodpanda Deal Over Monopoly Concerns
On Wednesday, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Taiwan had barred Uber Technologies' $950 million acquisition of Delivery Hero's Foodpanda operation on the island due to concerns about anti-competitiveness.
Attempts to reach Uber and Foodpanda for comment outside of normal business hours were not promptly addressed.
According to Delivery Hero's statement, Uber has the option to either appeal the decision made by the commission or cancel the deal.
FTC Raises Concerns Over Competition and Economic Impact
In a press conference, the commission stated that the merger's drawbacks would exceed its overall economic advantages, and that remedial actions would fail to allay competition fears, Investing.com shares.
"In the food delivery platform market, UberEats' main competitive pressure comes from Foodpanda. The merger would eliminate this competitive pressure," stated Chen Chih-min, vice chairman of Taiwan's FTC.
Potential for Higher Prices and Increased Market Share
"Post-merger, UberEats would be less constrained by competition, giving it more incentive to raise prices for consumers and even increase commissions for restaurant operators."
After the merger, the combined market share of the two enterprises in Taiwan would surpass 90%, according to Chen.
Uber's Financial Projections for the Acquisition
As part of the May announcement, Uber and Delivery Hero, a German food delivery service, announced a transaction in which Uber would buy 300 million shares of Delivery Hero's freshly issued stock.
In the first half of 2025, the U.S. corporation anticipated that the acquisition will add at least $150 million to its delivery business's adjusted core earnings each year within a year of the deal's closure.
There is an extremely competitive meal delivery sector in Taiwan, and online platforms only account for a little portion of it. For the twelve months ending March 31, 2024, the businesses stated that Foodpanda's island operations were break-even with regard to adjusted core earnings.
