Grab to buy foodpanda's Taiwan business for US$600 million
This would mark Grab's first expansion outside Southeast Asia.
A Grab motorbike helmet is displayed during Grab's fifth anniversary news conference in Singapore on Jun 6, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
SINGAPORE: Singapore-based Grab Holdings said on Monday (Mar 23) that it will buy foodpanda's business in Taiwan from German parent company Delivery Hero for US$600 million in cash.
This would mark its first expansion outside Southeast Asia.
Grab is Southeast Asia's biggest ride-hailing platform, whose other core businesses include food, grocery and parcel deliveries and digital financial services.
"This acquisition will mark Grab's expansion into Taiwan, our ninth market and first outside of Southeast Asia," chief executive Anthony Tan said.
Tan said Grab's experience in the bustling cities of Southeast Asia made Taiwan "a natural next step".
"Our longstanding expertise in managing complex delivery logistics for dense and high-traffic cities is well-suited for Taiwan," he said.
Grab, in the same statement, said it would operate in 21 Taiwanese cities after the deal was expected to be sealed in the second half of the year.
Grab said the deal, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, was expected to close in the second half of 2026 and was expected to contribute at least US$60 million in incremental adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2028.
In December 2024, Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission blocked Uber from acquiring Delivery Hero's foodpanda business for US$950 million as the merged entity would create a more than 90 per cent market share.
Uber Eats is currently a major food delivery player in Taiwan.
MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE
Foodpanda in Taiwan generated about US$1.8 billion in gross merchandise value in 2025 and was profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis before Delivery Hero group cost allocations, it added.
In February, Reuters reported that Grab was targeting annual revenue growth of more than 20 per cent over the next three years and aimed to triple EBITDA to US$1.5 billion by 2028.
At the time, Alex Hungate, its president and chief operating officer, said the company had taken "toeholds" outside Southeast Asia, including its acquisition of US wealth platform Stash.
Grab reiterated its 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance of US$700 million to US$720 million and said the transaction would be accretive to its 2026 group revenue forecast of US$4.04 billion to US$4.10 billion.
The company said it aimed to complete the migration of users, merchants and drivers to the Grab app by early 2027.
Delivery Hero CEO Niklas Oestberg said the Taiwan divestment was "a key first step" in the group's strategic review.
The proceeds of the deal will go to repay debt, the company said in a separate statement. Shares in the group rose 2.8 per cent.
Shareholders, most notably Aspex Management, have pressed Delivery Hero for progress in the strategic review of activities, as its shares have lost nearly a third of their value this year.
"Starting to divest assets is a positive, but Taiwan in itself is completely insufficient, as the company continues to rack up regulatory fines and mismanage capital via inefficient financing arrangements," Aspex said in a statement.
"A lot more needs to be done if the management wants to regain trust from the capital markets.
