Taiwan – The country’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has announced its decision to block the proposed merger between Uber Eats and foodpanda, citing concerns that it would significantly harm competition.
The government agency had argued that since foodpanda is Uber Eats’ primary competitor, the merger would give Uber Eats unchecked market dominance, potentially leading to higher costs for both consumers and restaurants.
The FTC also emphasised that Uber Eats relies heavily on individual customers and small to medium-sized restaurants for its business. If the merger went through, these groups would have limited alternatives outside the platform, leaving them vulnerable to the company’s increased influence in the food delivery sector.
Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) vice chairman Chen Chi-ming, said, “Post-merger, UberEats would be less constrained by competition, giving it more incentive to raise prices for consumers and even increase commissions for restaurant operators.”
He added, “The disadvantages to market competition from this merger far outweigh its economic benefits,” noting that the merged companies’ market share would exceed 90%.
While the merger promised some advantages, such as improved operational efficiency and cost benefits tied to denser networks, the FTC concluded that these potential gains were far outweighed by the harmful impacts on market competition.
Uber Eats had proposed measures to address the regulator’s concerns, but the FTC dismissed these as short-term fixes that would fail to sustain the existing level of competition in the industry.
It should be recalled that Uber Technologies and Delivery Hero SE have reached an agreement for Uber to acquire Delivery Hero’s foodpanda delivery business in Taiwan for US$950m in cash back in May this year. Delivery Hero SE had also previously confirmed the sale of select foodpanda businesses, albeit the only confirmation they had was for their SEA businesses.
