Grab enters Taiwan in $600 million Foodpanda deal, its first expansion beyond Southeast Asia

(SeaPRwire) –   In a $600 million deal marking its initial expansion beyond Southeast Asia, Grab will purchase Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations. The Singapore-headquartered firm reached an agreement with Delivery Hero, Foodpanda’s parent company, approximately twelve months after Uber withdrew its offer to acquire the Taiwanese platform due to regulatory opposition.

The transaction is expected to finalize in the latter half of 2026, with Grab intending to transition all users, merchants, and drivers to its platform by the start of 2027.

Grab CEO Anthony Tan stated in a Monday press release, “This represents a logical progression for Grab, as our Southeast Asian experience directly aligns with this market. Our extensive background in handling intricate delivery logistics for congested, high-traffic urban centers makes us ideally positioned for Taiwan.”

Industry analysts view the agreement as a well-timed strategic move for Grab. Maybank Securities analyst Hussaini Saifee characterized it as “an attractive new avenue for growth” for the Southeast Asian firm, considering Taiwan’s strong economic performance.

The move also validates Grab’s business approach, which has commanded Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing and food delivery sectors for nearly ten years. According to Tan Joo Seng, associate professor of business at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the company is now “transferring its proven strategy” to a new market. Tan describes Grab’s approach as a more rapid method of entering Taiwan’s market compared to developing operations from the ground up, comparing it to “riding a high-speed rail rather than constructing the railway.”

According to a Maybank Securities research report, Foodpanda Taiwan produced $1.8 billion in gross merchandise value last year, even with just 10% user penetration across Taiwan’s population.

Should the acquisition be completed, Grab will establish operations in 21 Taiwanese cities, with Uber Eats serving as the platform’s sole significant rival.

Uber submitted an offer for Delivery Hero’s Taiwan operations in May 2024. However, Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission expressed monopoly concerns regarding a consolidation between the two platforms, which collectively control approximately 75% of the market. Uber, which also runs a ride-hailing service in Taiwan, ultimately withdrew its proposal in early 2024.

Delivery Hero faces investor pressure to sell off some of its international operations, or potentially the entire company. Aspex, a Hong Kong-based fund and Delivery Hero’s second-biggest shareholder, reportedly threatened to oust CEO Niklas Östberg unless he accelerated efforts to divest company assets, according to a Bloomberg report from mid-March.

Grab is not alone in its Taiwanese expansion. Singapore’s Sea and South Korea’s Coupang also regard Taiwan as a growingly significant market for their e-commerce operations.

On LinkedIn, Grab CFO Peter Oey characterized Taiwan as a “structurally attractive market” featuring dense urban populations, robust consumer purchasing power, and a digital economy fueled by the AI and semiconductor surge. Taiwan’s economy expanded by 9% last year, marking its strongest growth since 2010.

Tan from NTU identifies Taiwan as an “ideal gateway” to broader North Asia, pointing to its high population density and tech-savvy consumer base.

Grab’s regional expansion

Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling established Grab in 2012 as a mobile application offering secure taxi-hailing services in Malaysia. The company has since grown into eight Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Grab commands a 55% market share, having surpassed both regional competitors such as Indonesia’s GoTo and international heavyweights like Uber.

Initially focused on ride-hailing, Grab has broadened its service portfolio to encompass food and grocery delivery as well as digital payments, positioning itself as one of Southeast Asia’s premier superapps.

Ranked 128th on the Southeast Asia 500 list, Grab posted record annual profits of $268 million last year, alongside $3.4 billion in revenue.

Grab’s NASDAQ-listed shares increased 2.3% on Monday following the announcement of its Foodpanda Taiwan acquisition. However, the stock has declined more than 20% over the past year.