For U.S. investors and mobility companies, Uber Technologies’ $14.8 billion acquisition of Delivery Hero is more than a food-delivery deal. It is part of a broader consolidation of global delivery platforms that could allow Uber to bundle ride-hailing, food delivery, memberships and merchant advertising across more markets. In South Korea, however, the transaction faces an early regulatory test because Delivery Hero controls Baemin, the country’s leading food-delivery platform.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission said September 22 that it had begun a preliminary review of Uber’s plan to acquire all shares of Germany-based Delivery Hero through a tender offer. The review comes before a formal merger filing and will assess whether the transaction could substantially restrict competition in South Korea.
The deal would combine Uber’s ride-hailing platform in South Korea with Delivery Hero’s food-delivery business through Baemin, operated by Woowa Brothers. The FTC classifies the transaction as a conglomerate merger because the two companies operate in different but potentially complementary markets.
That distinction is important for Uber’s strategy. The company could potentially connect ride-hailing and food delivery through integrated memberships, cross-platform promotions and advertising services for merchants. Uber has cited greater cross-use between its mobility and delivery businesses as one of the expected benefits of the transaction.
South Korea is a particularly important market in that strategy because of Baemin’s scale. The platform had 23.4 million monthly active users in April, compared with 13.15 million for Coupang Eats, according to the FTC.
For Uber, acquiring Delivery Hero would also provide a different route into a market where its standalone food-delivery operation previously struggled. Uber Eats launched in South Korea in 2017 but exited the market in 2019. The proposed acquisition would put Baemin under Uber’s control while leaving Uber Taxi as the company’s existing mobility business in the country.
The Korean review is one piece of a wider regulatory process surrounding Uber’s takeover. Uber agreed in July to pay €41.50 a share for Delivery Hero, valuing the German company at $14.8 billion, or $13.7 billion after adjusting for Uber’s existing stake. The transaction would expand Uber’s combined mobility and delivery network to 99 markets, with pro forma gross bookings of $236 billion in 2025.
Uber and Delivery Hero have also structured the transaction to address overlap in some markets. Delivery Hero separately agreed to sell operations in 14 markets to New York-based investment firm SSW Partners for about $1.6 billion.
The FTC said it will examine the structure of South Korea’s taxi-hailing and food-delivery markets, the activities of competing businesses and the choices available to consumers and merchants. The regulator will also assess whether the combined services could affect competition through membership programs, advertising or promotional offerings.
Uber is targeting completion of the Delivery Hero acquisition in the second half of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.
For investors, the Korean review illustrates the central issue facing Uber’s global delivery expansion: the value of combining large local platforms with its mobility network must be weighed against competition concerns in markets where those platforms already have significant scale.
