Delivery Hero Sells Taiwan Foodpanda to Grab for $600 Million in Debt-Reduction Push

Delivery Hero shares climbed on Monday after the Berlin-based food delivery giant announced a $600 million cash deal to sell its Taiwan operations to Southeast Asian super-app Grab Holdings. The transaction marks the first move under a broader strategic review the company is conducting to significantly reduce its debt load.

The sale, structured on a cash-free and debt-free basis, remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second half of 2026. Delivery Hero has confirmed it will direct net proceeds toward debt repayment and general corporate use, signaling a clear shift in its financial strategy.

Taiwan's foodpanda platform has demonstrated strong commercial performance, recording a gross merchandise value of €1.5 billion and achieving positive adjusted EBITDA, excluding allocated group costs, throughout full-year 2025. These figures highlight the asset's profitability ahead of the transition.

The divestiture is part of a strategic review being led with the guidance of financial adviser JP Morgan. CEO and co-founder Niklas Östberg described the sale as a pivotal step in the company's evolution, emphasizing plans to transform Delivery Hero into an everyday app offering a broader range of services designed to meet customer needs throughout the day.

For Grab, the deal represents a significant regional expansion, adding Taiwan as its ninth market and marking its first venture beyond Southeast Asia. Co-founder and Group CEO Anthony Tan cited strong growth potential in Taiwan's food and grocery delivery sector as a key driver behind the acquisition.

Given the complexity of separating Taiwan's food delivery infrastructure from Delivery Hero's global systems, both companies engaged in an extensive preparation phase to ensure business continuity during the transition. Foodpanda's customers, vendors, and delivery partners in Taiwan will be fully migrated to the Grab platform once the deal is finalized.