According to a report by the Financial Times, the ride-sharing giant will no longer launch its Uber Eats service in five of the seven European countries it had initially targeted for this year. While the company will halt plans in Austria, Norway, and Greece, it has already completed successful rollouts in Finland and Denmark. The remaining two affected countries were not named, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The sudden pivot comes as a surprise after Uber previously stated the expansion—which also included Denmark, Finland, the Czech Republic, and Romania—was projected to generate an additional $1 billion in gross bookings over the next three years.
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Instead, Uber is pouring its energy into acquiring Delivery Hero. The U.S.-based company recently bumped its stake in the German food delivery firm to nearly 37%, up from 25%, following a buyout of shares from Aspex Management. Delivery Hero confirmed it received a takeover offer from Uber valued at €33 per share ($37.74).
When questioned about the shift, Uber told the FT that it decided to pause the rollout following the “huge success” of its new operations in Finland and Denmark, choosing to focus on maintaining momentum in its current markets rather than stretching into new ones.
