Taiwan blocks Uber’s $950 million Foodpanda deal citing anti-competitive concerns.

(Reuters) – Taiwan has suspended Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: )’s $950 million sale of delivery hero Foodpanda on the island over anti-competitive concerns, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said on Wednesday.

Uber, Delivery Hero and Foodpanda did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

As the commission announced in a media statement, the negative impact of the prohibited merger on market competition is greater than the overall economic benefits, so it is not possible to continue the competition by taking corrective measures.

“In the food delivery platform market, UberEats’ main competitive pressure comes from Foodpanda. The merger will remove this competitive pressure… Post-merger, UberEats will be less constrained by competition, which will give consumers even more incentive to raise prices,” said Chen Chih-min, vice chairman of Taiwan’s FTC for Food. Add home operators commissions.

Chen added that after the merger, the market share of both companies in Taiwan will exceed 90 percent.

Uber and Delivery Hero announced the Taiwan deal in May, which included a separate deal for Uber to buy $300 million in newly issued shares of the German food delivery company.

The U.S. company expects the acquisition to contribute $150 million a year to adjusted core profits in the delivery business, which it expects to see in the first half of 2025.

Online food delivery platforms represent a small part of Taiwan’s competitive food delivery market, but Foodpanda’s operations on the island were weak in terms of adjusted core revenue in the 12 months ended March 31, 2024, the companies said.