JSE-listed Prosus has sold a 4.5% stake in its German delivery platform, Delivery Hero, to Uber for R5.2 billion.
Prosus, which operates as Naspers’s international arm, says the sale is part of a European Commission requirement for its takeover of Just Eat Takeaway.com.
The European Commission required Prosus to “significantly reduce its shareholding in Delivery Hero” to purchase the global on-demand delivery company, which has 362 000 partners in 16 countries.
“Today’s transaction represents a step towards fulfilling those commitments. Prosus remains committed to selling the relevant portion of its stake in Delivery Hero within the required timeframe,” says Prosus on its website.
Delivery Hero, founded in 2011, is based in Berlin and operates in around 70 countries across four continents. It connects customers with local restaurants, shops and its own 800 delivery-only supermarkets, offering quick commerce services.
The delivery company has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2017.
Niklas Östberg, CEO and co-founder of Delivery Hero, says: “We welcome Uber’s additional investment in Delivery Hero. As a global tech leader, Uber’s increased position is a meaningful endorsement of our platform, our strategy and our ongoing work to deliver long-term value for all shareholders.”
Prosus’s sale of the Delivery Hero stake is at €20 per share – R425.86 at this morning’s exchange rate of R19.36 – and is a 22% premium to the stock’s average trading price for the past month.
When the deal has been wrapped up, Prosus will hold a 21.8% stake in Delivery Hero, which is a drop from its current 26.3%. Desktop research indicates the deal will take Uber’s stake in Delivery Hero to 7%.
Reuters reported earlier this year that Uber, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, plans to expand its food-delivery business into seven new European markets in 2026, including the Czech Republic, Greece and Romania.
The expansion will result in Uber entering Austria, Denmark, Finland and Norway, with the company expecting the move to generate an additional $1 billion in gross bookings over the next three years, the wire service reported.
For the year to December, Uber reported that trips during the last quarter of the year gained 22% year-on-year, while revenue gained 20% to R14.4 billion – or R236.4 billion.
“Uber accelerated into another record-breaking quarter, with more than 200 million monthly users completing more than 40 million trips every day – our largest and most engaged consumer base ever,” said CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
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