Taiwan Blocks Grab’s $600 Million Foodpanda Deal, Citing Uber Ties

The Fair Trade Commission announced the decision on Wednesday. According to the Wall Street Journal, the regulator concluded that the damage the transaction would do to competition outweighed its broader economic benefits. The commission also said the remedies the companies offered were “insufficient to eliminate the competition concerns”.

The regulator’s main concern was Uber Technologies Inc. Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominate the island’s food delivery market. Although Grab has no operations in Taiwan, Uber owns roughly 13.1% of its shares, according to the agency. Singapore-based tech outlet e27 reported that the commission saw that stake as likely to weaken competition between a Grab-owned Foodpanda and Uber Eats. The regulator reached that view even though Grab’s dual-class share structure limits Uber’s voting power to 3.9%, e27 said.

Grab, Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing and delivery operator, agreed in March to pay $600 million in cash for the Taiwan business, according to Reuters. Taiwan would have been the company’s ninth market. e27 reported that Foodpanda Taiwan recorded $1.8 billion in gross merchandise value last year and that the purchase would have given Grab slightly more than half of the market.

In a statement carried by The Wall Street Journal, Grab said it was disappointed and that its “core business across Southeast Asia remains robust.” The company said it would keep putting its capital into its existing regional growth plans.

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Related: Saudi Arabia Reviews Uber’s $14.8 Billion Delivery Hero Takeover

Delivery Hero said the agreement includes protections such as a break fee, subject to certain conditions, according to the same report. The Business Times, as summarized by Digg, reported that the Berlin-based company said its right to appeal is unaffected.

The financial hit to Grab appears limited. News aggregator Briefs reported that Morningstar analyst Kai Wang estimated the unit would have lifted Grab’s delivery gross merchandise value by about 13% and added $60 million to adjusted EBITDA in 2028. Grab is targeting $1.7 billion in adjusted EBITDA for that year. Wang described the loss as “only a minor dent” to Grab’s overall business.

Delivery Hero shares fell 0.8% in early Frankfurt trading, while Grab rose about 0.7% before the New York open.

The ruling continues Taipei’s resistance to consolidation in food delivery. According to the Central News Agency, the commission blocked Uber Eats’ earlier bid for Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations in December 2024, and Uber dropped that deal in March 2025. Reuters reported at the time that the earlier offer was valued at $950 million.

Labor groups welcomed this week’s decision. CNA reported that two delivery-worker organizations that had repeatedly protested the deal praised the outcome. The agency also reported that a commission official rejected fears that Foodpanda could pull out of Taiwan, noting the business remains profitable and its owner could look for another buyer.

The overlapping ownership could become more tangled. e27 reported that Uber agreed in July to acquire Delivery Hero itself, placing it on every side of the transaction. The outlet said regulators elsewhere in the region may face similar shareholder questions if that deal closes.

Source: The Wall Street Journal