Grab is expanding beyond Southeast Asia by buying Foodpanda’s Taiwan business for $600 million, aiming to gain a bigger share of the local food delivery market.
Taipei: Delivery giant Grab announced it will buy Foodpanda’s Taiwan business from Delivery Hero for $600 million in cash. This is Grab’s first move to grow beyond Southeast Asia. The deal still needs approval from regulators and is expected to finish in the second half of 2026.
Grab plans to move all users, merchants, and drivers to its platform by early 2027. This comes about a year after Uber had to cancel its plan to buy Foodpanda’s Taiwan business. Taiwan’s antitrust group blocked Uber’s deal because it might have reduced competition too much.
When Uber tried to buy Foodpanda, the two companies controlled about 90% of Taiwan’s food delivery market together. Grab thinks its purchase will give it just over 50% of the market. This would make Grab a stronger competitor to Uber instead of creating one big company that controls everything.
Anthony Tan, Grab’s CEO, said Grab has experience managing delivery services in busy cities. He said Taiwan’s large population wants mobile services like those in Southeast Asia. Tan believes there is a big chance to grow food and grocery delivery in Taiwan. After the purchase, Grab will work in 21 cities across Taiwan and its Gross Merchandise Value could reach about $1.8 billion.