Delivery Hero's shares rose on Monday after the Berlin-based food delivery group agreed to sell its Taiwan operations to Grab Holdings for $600 million in cash. The company said the deal - to be executed on a cash-free, debt-free basis - is the inaugural transaction emerging from a strategic review conducted with financial adviser JP Morgan.
The agreement is conditional on customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026, Delivery Hero said. The seller plans to allocate the net proceeds toward repaying debt and for general corporate purposes.
Taiwan's foodpanda business produced €1.5 billion in gross merchandise value and achieved positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for full-year 2025, when excluding allocated group costs. Management highlighted that disentangling the Taiwan operation from Delivery Hero's wider global infrastructure required an extensive negotiation and preparation process to ensure the business could continue operating through the transition.
Chief executive and co-founder Niklas Östberg described the sale as an initial step in a broader strategic review, saying, "This divestment is a key first step in our ongoing strategic review." He positioned the move within Delivery Hero's longer-term aim to evolve into an Everyday App, improving the user proposition and adding verticals to capture more of customers' needs throughout the day.
For Grab, the purchase expands its footprint into a ninth market and marks its first acquisition outside Southeast Asia. Grab group chief executive and co-founder Anthony Tan said, "We see a significant opportunity to grow the food and groceries delivery scene here." The company signalled expectations for further growth in Taiwan's food and grocery delivery segment.
Delivery Hero underlined that it would continue normal operations until the transaction closes. After completion, foodpanda's customers, vendors and delivery partners in Taiwan will be transitioned to Grab's platform.
Operationally, the deal required careful separation planning. Because the transaction involves carving Taiwan's delivery operations away from the company's global systems, Delivery Hero said extensive negotiation and preparatory work was needed to keep services running during the handover. Management reaffirmed that it remains committed to running the business as usual until the closing.
This sale is the first concrete step announced under the company's strategic review and is intended to contribute to balance-sheet repair via debt reduction. The transaction's completion remains subject to the regulatory timeline and the successful operational transition of customers and partners to Grab.