Uber Technologies is reportedly close to announcing a deal to buy Delivery Hero for about €12.5 billion ($14.3 billion).
The American ride hailing and delivery company was expected to offer about €41 per share under the acquisition to be announced on Thursday, according to the Financial Times (FT) newspaper.
The German food delivery company said on Tuesday it was in "advanced negotiations" with Uber regarding a potential takeover offer but the FT story on Wednesday was the first time the terms had been reported.
Under the proposed transaction, Delivery Hero would address anti-trust concerns by selling its Turkish subsidiary Yemeksepeti and several European operations to an investment firm, according to this Reuters story.
This proposed acquisition, one of the largest consolidation deals in the global online food delivery sector, follows months of speculation over the future of the Berlin-based and Frankfurt-listed Delivery Hero.
Uber, which operates in food delivery through its Uber Eats business, had made an offer in May that valued Delivery Hero at about €10 billion.
Delivery Hero has built one of the world's largest food delivery networks through acquisitions and organic expansion, while Uber has continued to strengthen Uber Eats following its acquisition of Postmates in the United States.
Uber’s confirmation of the talks had come in a regulatory disclosure in which it declined to comment on the offer price which was reported by the FT on the basis of information from people familiar with the matter.
Delivery Hero SE shares (ETR: DHER) closed €0.92 (2.35%) down at €38.18 on Wednesday, capitalising the company at €11.83 billion (US$13.6. billion).
Uber shares (NYSE: UBER) closed 59 cents (0.82%) higher at US$72.67 on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), valuing the company at $147.93 billion.
