🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

European regulators opened the door for Uber

• Uber raised its stake in Delivery Hero after a European Commission merger condition forced Prosus, a Netherlands-based technology investment company, to cut its holding 1.
• To win approval for its acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway.com, an online meal delivery company, Prosus had to reduce its 27.4% stake in rival Delivery Hero to below a very low threshold within a year 1.
• Prosus later sold parts of that stake, including 4.5% to Uber in April. Critics say an EU remedy meant to protect competition has instead made it easier for a dominant US company to gain influence at a large European tech firm 1.

Quick commerce sits at the center of the deal

• The bigger appeal is quick commerce, the rapid delivery of groceries and retail goods. Restaurant competition with DoorDash is a smaller part of the picture 2.
• Delivery Hero’s quick commerce business makes up 18% of its gross merchandise value, the total value of orders placed on its platform, and it grew 30% year over year in Q1 2026 with support from more than 80 fulfillment centers 2.
• Buying that network could speed Uber’s move into non-food categories. It could also draw antitrust scrutiny across the wider on-demand delivery market.