Delivery Hero has announced that they have terminated and canceled various discussions involving the sale of the Foodpanda business in several markets, including Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. In a statement, the Berlin-headquartered firm declared the cessation of talks with the primary negotiating party regarding the prospective sale, but refrained from disclosing any specific entities involved.
“When reconfirming ongoing discussions on Feb 2, 2024, Delivery Hero remained optimistic that it would reach agreeable terms for signing with the main negotiating counterpart,” the company wrote. “However, Delivery Hero took the decision to withdraw from negotiations as this is no longer the case,” it said.
Delivery Hero chief executive officer and co-founder Niklas Östberg said the strength of the company’s APAC business was evident during the last quarters as the region reached an inflection point in 2023. Just last week, he expressed that he was happy to hold onto the Foodpanda brand, noting that the business has turned breakeven and is not affecting its profitability anymore.
“We believe the region remains strongly positioned to drive profitable growth at scale,” Östberg said as part of the same statement. “The decision to terminate negotiations after months of discussions was taken after careful consideration.”
Despite which, the company noted it remains open to mergers and acquisition, and will continue to assess potential strategic alternatives. However, it said it will only proceed with negotiations where it can create value for shareholders with high certainty of closing. Additionally, Delivery Hero noted that the announcement does not have any impact on its guidance which it has set out for 2024 or its Free Cash Flow expectations for the medium term.
(Source: Delivery Hero [newsroom])
