Delivery Hero Keeps Östberg as Chief Executive Amid Uber’s $14.8 Billion Bid

Key Facts

Delivery Hero said on September 24, 2026, that co-founder Niklas Östberg will remain chief executive beyond March 31, 2027, reversing its earlier exit plan. The decision comes during Uber’s €41.50-a-share cash offer, which values all of Delivery Hero’s equity at $14.8 billion. The company linked the leadership change to the altered circumstances created by the pending takeover. Its announcement did not say the deal had closed or set a new departure date for Östberg. For shareholders, the immediate development is continuity in management during a conditional transaction; the cash consideration offered for their shares has not changed.

Delivery Hero had said on May 12, 2026, that Östberg would hand over the chief executive role by March 31, 2027, with a successor search intended to finish before the end of 2026. Its September 24, 2026 disclosure explicitly says he will not step down on that timetable. The company said his continuation rests on an existing service agreement running through April 30, 2029. That removes the previously announced departure date from the leadership transition during the takeover process. The contract’s end date should not, however, be read as a newly announced retirement date; a contract term and a succession plan answer different questions.

Uber is offering €41.50 in cash for each eligible Delivery Hero share, the figure directly relevant to a shareholder considering the offer. The $14.8 billion figure is the implied value of all the company’s equity, rather than an additional amount Uber must pay for shares it already owns. Uber put the value at $13.7 billion after adjusting for its earlier share purchases. Those dollar figures therefore should not be treated as alternative prices for an individual share. The distinction separates the euro-denominated payment to a tendering holder, the total equity valuation and the deal value adjusted for Uber’s existing stake.

Before announcing the offer, Uber directly held about 24.77% of Delivery Hero’s voting shares and had economic exposure equivalent to another 11.74% through equity derivatives. Prosus committed to tender its approximately 16.68% holding, taking Uber’s expected total economic interest to roughly 53%. Derivative exposure and a promise to tender are not the same as completed transfers of shares. The offer requires acceptance representing at least 50% of the share capital plus one share, alongside other conditions. The distinction matters when judging completion risk: disclosed support is substantial, but it does not replace the actual tender result or required approvals.

The transaction also provides for Delivery Hero to sell operations in 14 markets to SSW Partners for about $1.6 billion, with that sale conditional on Uber’s offer closing. Uber says the businesses it would acquire span 50 markets and generated $42 billion in gross bookings in 2025. The businesses designated for SSW Partners generated $11 billion in gross bookings in 2025, according to Uber’s transaction breakdown. Those amounts describe the scale of activity assigned to each buyer; gross bookings are neither revenue nor forecast profit. Because the separate sale depends on the takeover closing, execution of both arrangements belongs in an assessment of the deal.

In the latest results published before the leadership announcement, Delivery Hero reported €13.2 billion in gross merchandise value for the second quarter of 2026. That measure grew 11.3% year on year on a like-for-like basis, accelerating from 8.8% growth in the first quarter, while revenue rose 17.7% to €4.0 billion. Gross merchandise value measures orders placed across the platform, whereas revenue is the amount the company recognizes from its activities. Rising orders and revenue therefore describe different parts of the business Östberg will continue to oversee. The growth comparisons use the company’s adjustments for business scope and currency, rather than simple changes at reported exchange rates.

Part of the second-quarter 2026 momentum came from quick commerce, which represented 18.3% of group gross merchandise value and grew 32% year on year on a like-for-like basis. Delivery Hero said orders from its Dmart stores rose 39%, while orders per store increased 28% from a year earlier. More orders per store point to heavier use of the existing network, a different driver from simply opening additional sites. That distinction helps investors assess how much expansion comes from new capacity and how much from activity at established stores. Higher order volume alone does not establish an equivalent gain in profit; costs and cash generation must also be examined.

Delivery Hero reported €427 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the first half of 2026, up 3.9% from a year earlier. Free cash flow before extraordinary items reached €348 million, against negative €8 million in the comparable half of 2025. The company raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance to €960 million–€1,000 million from a previous range of €910 million–€960 million. These comparisons provide operating benchmarks for the management team that will remain in place during the takeover process. The cash-flow measure excludes extraordinary items under the company’s definition and should not be mistaken for every potential cash movement associated with the deal.

Delivery Hero said Uber’s €41.50-a-share offer stood about 108% above the unaffected closing price on May 8, 2026; that is a historical comparison, not a premium to the current trading price. Delivery Hero is scheduled to publish its third-quarter update on October 28, 2026, before the offer’s November 5, 2026 acceptance deadline. The companies expect completion in the second half of 2027, subject to the acceptance threshold, regulatory clearances and other conditions. For a shareholder, satisfaction of those conditions determines whether the cash consideration is paid on the expected timetable. The quarterly results and progress toward closing will test operating performance and deal execution, two separate components of the investment case.