KUALA LUMPUR – Foodpanda parent company Delivery Hero SE has confirmed ending talks on the sale of the business in selected Southeast Asian markets.
In a statement dated February 21, Delivery Hero chief executive Niklas Östberg said the company had earlier been optimistic when reconfirming ongoing discussions that it could reach an “alignment” with the potential buyer on the sale of the business.
“However, Delivery Hero took the decision to withdraw from negotiations as this is no longer the case.
“The strength of our APAC (Asia Pacific) business has become evident during the last quarters as the region reached an inflection point in 2023. We believe the region remains strongly positioned to drive profitable growth at scale. The decision to terminate negotiations after months of discussions was taken after careful consideration,” Östberg said.
Delivery Hero will remain open to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and will continue to assess “potential strategic alternatives”, he added, noting that the company’s financial year guidance for 2024 excluded any M&A activities.
This, however, will only proceed with negotiations that “create value for shareholders with high certainty of closing”, Östberg said.
Delivery Hero’s Southeast Asian markets cover Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
Earlier this month, the company refuted media reports that negotiations for the potential sale of Foodpanda in Southeast Asia to a delivery counterpart had collapsed.
Östberg in the company’s latest statement said Delivery Hero, at the time, had been optimistic it could reach agreeable terms, but this did not happen. – February 22, 2024