Prosus is set to pocket about €2.1-billion – roughly R40-billion – from the sale of its remaining stake in Delivery Hero, after Uber on Thursday launched a takeover offer valuing the German food delivery group at US$14.8-billion (R242-billion).
The Amsterdam- and JSE-listed technology investor, which is majority owned by Naspers, said in a stock exchange announcement on Thursday that it has given Uber an irrevocable undertaking to sell its full remaining 16.8% shareholding in Delivery Hero at the €41.50/share offer price once the transaction completes.
The disposal will end Prosus’s long involvement with Delivery Hero – and it’s a sale Prosus had little choice but to make. European competition authorities required the group to reduce its 26.5% stake significantly as a condition of approving its acquisition of rival food delivery firm Just Eat Takeaway.com. Prosus sold a 4.5% tranche to Uber in April and a further 5% to Aspex Management in May, leaving the 16.8% now committed to Uber’s offer.
Amsterdam-listed Prosus and its parent, JSE-listed Naspers, said the offer represents “a fair price and effective way to comply” with its European Commission commitments, and that it will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.
For Uber, the deal would create the world’s largest food delivery company outside China, spanning 99 countries with combined pro forma gross merchandise value of $236-billion in 2025, the companies said in a joint statement. It advances the US ride-hailing group’s effort to build a global food delivery presence as it faces intensifying competition from rivals such as DoorDash, which has been expanding aggressively abroad.
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Uber’s cash offer of €41.50/share represents a premium of about 34% to Delivery Hero’s three-month volume-weighted average share price prior to the announcement, and is conditional on a minimum acceptance threshold of 50% plus one share. Uber already holds 24.99% of Delivery Hero directly, with a further 11.8% held via instruments; with Prosus’s tender commitment, its total economic interest exceeds 53%.
Acquiring Delivery Hero would widen the Uber Eats network in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, but is likely to attract attention from antitrust regulators given the overlap in the companies’ operations. To smooth the path, Delivery Hero has agreed to sell part of its business covering 14 markets to US-based investment firm SSW Partners for about €1.4-billion.
Uber has also committed to invest €2-billion in Germany through to 2031 and to retain Delivery Hero’s Berlin headquarters and workforce until at least 2029.
Delivery Hero’s management and supervisory boards said they support the proposal and intend to recommend that shareholders accept the offer after reviewing the formal offer document. “The food delivery business is highly competitive and scale dependent,” said supervisory board chair Kristin Skogen Lund. “Joining forces with a strong partner now is the right move for Delivery Hero to best secure its future competitiveness.”
Read: Food delivery helps fire Prosus to 84% profit surge
The offer is expected to be completed in the second half of next year. Prosus cautioned that it remains subject to customary regulatory conditions and that there is no certainty it will be implemented. Once implemented, the transaction will be categorised for Naspers under JSE listings requirements. — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media, with additional reporting (c) 2026 Reuters
