VIENTIANE (Laotian Times): Following months of negotiations, Berlin-based multinational online food ordering and delivery company Delivery Hero has ended talks of the potential sale of its South-East Asian market with an undisclosed third party.
The company first confirmed it was in negotiations to sell the Foodpanda brand in Laos, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines in September.
During the same period, German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche speculated that Grab, the Singapore-based online taxi and food delivery business, would acquire Foodpanda for more than EUR 1 Billion (USD 1,065,270,000).
However, in a press release on 21 February, the company stated that it has terminated discussions with the main negotiating counterpart regarding a potential sale.
“We believe the region remains strongly positioned to drive profitable growth at scale. The decision to terminate negotiations after months of discussions was taken after careful consideration,” Niklas Östberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Delivery Hero stated.
Delivery Hero’s business in Asia, its largest market, started to stagnate in 2023 following a meteoric rise in 2020 as Covid restrictions hindered people’s ability to roam freely. According to the company’s fourth quarter 2023 trading update, the Asia and Pacific region growth has started to recover after a profit push in Q4 2023, with the company now “operating on break-even level.”
Nonetheless, Delivery Hero still remains open to mergers and acquisitions and will continue to assess potential strategic alternatives. With the company stating it will only “proceed with negotiations where it can create value for shareholders with high certainty of closing.”
In January, Delivery Hero sold its 4.5 percent stake in rival online food delivery group Deliveroo. - Laotian Times
