Uber confirms €33-a-share offer for Delivery Hero as DoorDash circles

Delivery Hero said Monday it received a formal takeover offer from Uber at €33 per share, a bid below the company's most recent closing price that nevertheless drove shares up nearly 9% as rival DoorDash separately moved to acquire the German company's key regional assets.

The bid, which would value the company at roughly €11 billion ($12.8 billion), would give Uber commanding delivery operations across Asia, Southern Europe, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa — markets where its Uber Eats service has limited reach — setting the stage for what analysts say could become a contested acquisition.

Uber's offer of €33 per share came in below Delivery Hero's Friday close, yet shares surged to €36.69 on Monday — a gain of nearly 9% — on expectations that the final price will be higher, according to The Korea Times. The gap between the bid and the market price reflects investor bets that Uber will need to sweeten its terms or contend with a competing buyer.

Uber built its way to the negotiating table by steadily accumulating Delivery Hero shares, lifting its stake from roughly 7% to 19.5% of the company's share capital before making the formal offer. That position established Uber as one of Delivery Hero's largest individual shareholders ahead of any public announcement.

DoorDash has separately approached Delivery Hero shareholders about buying specific regional operations, including Talabat on the Arabian Peninsula, HungerStation in Saudi Arabia and Yemeksepeti in Turkey, the Financial Times reported. A partial carve-out of those assets could complicate Uber's bid for the full company.

Some Delivery Hero investors are holding out for more than €40 per share, well above Uber's opening bid. The fact that shares are trading above the offer price underscores broad market skepticism that €33 is enough to close the deal.

Jefferies analyst Giles Thorne cautioned that how negotiations develop from here "is difficult to predict," given the range of potential bidders and the strategic complexity of Delivery Hero's international portfolio, which spans Asia, Southern Europe, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa.

Whether Uber secures Delivery Hero outright will depend on whether DoorDash can assemble a credible counter-offer for the company's Middle Eastern and Turkish brands — and on how far above €33 a share Uber is willing to go to end the bidding contest.