Uber has signed an agreement to acquire Delivery Hero, a German group specialized in food delivery, for 13 billion euros. The company owns, among others, the Glovo business in Spain, but the delivery platform is left out of the movement as a result of the independent agreement established between Delivery Hero and the American investment firm SSW Partners, which will acquire Delivery Hero’s businesses in a total of 14 markets.

As the companies explain in a statement, the operation, one of the largest in the category, expands Uber’s presence internationally, since, once the operation is in effect, it will be in a total of 99 markets. The agreement implies that Uber acquires, among other things, Foodpanda in countries such as Bangladesh, the Philippines or Singapore; Foodora in Hungary; OrdersAlready in much of Latin America, or Talabat in Egypt, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates.

It also acquires Glovo in markets such as Italy, Morocco, Ukraine, Uganda or Tunisia, but not in Spain, nor Portugal, Romania, Poland and Moldova. This is because Delivery Hero has signed an agreement with SSW Partners to take over its business in more than a dozen markets, particularly those in which Uber Eats and Delivery Hero already operate together after the acquisition of a quarter of Delivery Hero’s shares in May.

This implies that, for around 1.4 billion euros, SSW Partners will acquire, in addition to Glovo in the aforementioned markets, Foodora in Austria, the Czech Republic, Norway and Sweden; Efood in Greece, Foody in Cyprus; OrdersNow in Chile and Ecuador and Yemeksepeti in Türkiye. The purchase, however, will be punctual since, as the companies explain in the statement, SSW will lead a process to find strategic partners that better position said businesses for long-term success.

“By uniting our platforms, we will expand affordable and reliable delivery service to millions more people in many of the world’s most dynamic economies, while creating more opportunities for merchants and delivery drivers.“Commented Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, in the statement. “Together, we will nearly double the number of markets where we offer mobility and delivery services, scaling a platform that we believe will generate significant long-term value for our customers and shareholders.”.

Delivery Hero, for its part, assures that the alliance will help enhance its strengths and ensure its future competitiveness and its ability to generate value for all interest groups. “Uber’s global mobility and delivery platform and our shared commitment to innovation make this the ideal alliance to leverage strengths in local food delivery and quick commerce.”said Niklas Östberg, CEO of Delivery Hero.

Under the terms of the voluntary takeover bid shared by the companies, Uber will offer Delivery Hero shareholders cash consideration of €41.50 per share, the equity value of the deal at $14.8 billion, or $13.7 billion when considering Uber’s previous stake purchases in the German firm.

The operation creates one of the world’s largest food delivery operators, and reinforces Uber’s positioning outside the United States. It represents an example of the concentration and consolidation of the delivery category after the strong expansion experienced six years ago during the coronavirus pandemic. The market has now, however, entered a new phase in which the shareholders of the different players seek profitability from the services.