Delivery Hero's headquarters in Berlin.

A quick overview: Uber Technologies has proposed acquiring Delivery Hero for €10 billion, reflecting ongoing merger and acquisition fervor in the food delivery sector and boosting the target company's stock price.

The German food delivery platform Delivery Hero confirmed that U.S. mobility giant Uber Technologies has submitted a takeover offer valuing the company at €10 billion (approximately $11.6 billion). This move highlights the sustained high level of M&A activity within the food delivery industry and has driven Delivery Hero's share price higher.

In recent weeks, Uber has been making significant additional investments and is now the largest shareholder in Delivery Hero. This development follows a series of major changes at the Berlin-based company, including a strategic overhaul, a significant adjustment in its shareholding structure, and the announced departure of its co-founder and CEO.

During early European trading on Monday, Delivery Hero's stock surged by as much as 13%, reaching €37.85. The stock has already gained nearly two-thirds this year, and this latest increase extends that upward trend.

Delivery Hero stated that Uber's preliminary offer to all shareholders is €33 per share. The stock closed at €33.59 on the previous Friday.

The company indicated it remains fully committed to its ongoing strategic review process and will provide updates in due course.

Uber has not yet commented on the matter.

The San Francisco-based Uber directly holds a 19.5% stake in Delivery Hero and has an additional indirect holding of 5.6% through financial contracts. Just last week, when disclosing its latest share purchase, Uber also stated it has no intention of acquiring 30% or more of the voting rights in Delivery Hero and does not plan to make substantial changes to its capital structure.

Delivery Hero had previously expressed openness to Uber's investment.

If this acquisition proceeds, it would continue the trend of consolidation in the food delivery industry in recent years. Following the industry boom spurred by the pandemic, companies have been seeking partnerships to enhance competitiveness through scale and operational efficiency.

Last year, U.S. peer DoorDash acquired the British platform Deliveroo for approximately £2.9 billion in cash to expand its global operations. Investment firm Prosus spent €4.1 billion to acquire Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com. Prosus is also a significant investor in Delivery Hero and owns the Latin American delivery platform iFood. Additionally, a former Walmart executive acquired the U.S. legacy platform Grubhub from Just Eat Takeaway.

In an earlier wave of M&A, DoorDash acquired the Finnish company Wolt, while Delivery Hero took over the Spanish platform Glovo.

To secure EU approval for its acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway.com, Prosus agreed to sell most of its stake in Delivery Hero, creating an opportunity for Uber to increase its holdings. Uber began building its position starting in 2024. Regulatory filings disclosed earlier this month show that Hong Kong investment firm Aspex Management also purchased shares from Prosus and now holds a 14.55% stake in Delivery Hero.

Delivery Hero announced earlier this month that co-founder and CEO Niklas Östberg will step down next March. However, he will continue to oversee M&A activities related to the strategic review announced last December. The company stated at the time that it would consider seeking M&A opportunities for parts of its business.