Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday blocked Grab Holdings’ $600 million purchase of Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, pointing to the Singapore-based super app’s equity and board ties to Uber, which operates the island’s other leading food delivery platform.
“The equity ties, overlapping board membership and history of business cooperation between Grab and Uber would reduce Grab’s incentive and ability to compete with Uber Eats in Taiwan,” Shin Chih-chung, an FTC commissioner, said.
“We are disappointed by this outcome, as we will not be able to pursue our mission to serve Taiwanese consumers, delivery riders, and merchants with the innovation, fair-earning opportunities, and enhanced service standards we had planned to bring to the market,” Grab said in a statement to Fortune after the FTC’s decision.
Uber Eats and foodpanda are Taiwan’s two dominant food delivery platforms. Uber abandoned Southeast Asia in 2018, but it has a 13.1% stake in Grab. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi held a seat on Grab’s board until July, when he stepped down to smooth the latter’s acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan. “This board change further underscores Grab’s commitment to maintaining a robust and independent governance framework in connection with the proposed acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s business,” Grab said in a statement at the time.
The decision, for now, ends Grab’s first attempt to expand outside Southeast Asia. In March, the company announced that it would buy Foodpanda’s Taiwan delivery business for $600 million. The Singapore-based super app expected to close the deal during the second half of the year. If the deal had gone ahead, Taiwan would have become Grab’s ninth market, and the company’s first outside of Southeast Asia.
The deal drew concern from legislators and delivery drivers, who worried about reduced competition. On Oct. 12, in response to public discussions, Grab said it had focused efforts on getting to know the Taiwanese market and that the question before regulators was whether they wanted Taiwan to end up with one platform or two that could compete effectively.
Taiwanese regulators blocked a previous deal involving Foodpanda. In 2024, they blocked Uber’s attempt to buy Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations due to competition concerns.
E-commerce in Taiwan
Taiwan has emerged as a new battleground for delivery and e-commerce companies.
Coupang, a U.S.-based e-commerce company, has made Taiwan one of its biggest markets outside South Korea. The company opened its fourth fulfillment center there in March; its next-day “Rocket Delivery” service now covers about 70% of the island. Coupang says it is one of the largest U.S. investors in Taiwan.
Shopee, owned by Singapore-based Sea Limited, also has extensive operations in Taiwan.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com