Uber has quietly paused five of its seven planned 2026 European food-delivery market launches — Austria, Norway, Czech Republic, Romania, and Greece — proceeding only with Denmark and Finland. While Uber publicly frames this as focusing on successful existing markets, the likelier explanation is its ongoing pursuit of a ~€10bn takeover of Delivery Hero, the German food-delivery giant that rejected Uber's bid in May. Delivery Hero's brands (Foodora, efood, Glovo) operate in exactly the five paused markets, and launching Uber Eats against a company it's trying to acquire would create significant antitrust complications. Delivery Hero operates in 65 countries with 40,000 staff and leads food delivery outside the US, making it a transformative acquisition target for Uber.
