Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) has declined to approve the sale of Germany-based Delivery Hero‘s food courier business foodpanda in Taiwan to Singapore’s super app Grab, blocking a $600 million deal agreed in March.

In a statement on Wednesday, Delivery Hero said the sale was subject to regulatory approvals, including merger control clearance from the commission, when it announced the transaction on March 23, 2026.

Grab, the Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery company, said in March that it would pay $600 million in cash for the business. At the time, Grab said the deal was its first expansion beyond Southeast Asia. The acquisition can give it a market share of just over 50 percent in Taiwan’s food delivery market and expand its presence to 21 cities.

Delivery Hero said the TFTC’s decision does not affect its right to appeal.

In a statement also on Wednesday, the TFTC said Taiwan’s food delivery market is effectively a “duopoly” led by foodpanda and Uber Eats. Although Grab and foodpanda do not compete directly in Taiwan, Grab would replace foodpanda as Uber Eats’ main rival if the deal closed. Meanwhile, Uber holds about 13.1 percent of Grab’s shares, and its executive previously served on Grab’s board.

The commission said those ties, along with the companies’ commercial cooperation in other markets, would reduce both companies’ incentive to compete in Taiwan.

Foodpanda has operated in Taiwan for about 12 years, featuring 3-4 million users and 100,000 merchants. The business generated $1.8 billion in gross merchandise value last year.

Taiwan’s 4 concerns

The TFTC identified four concerns. First, Uber would share in Grab’s profits, which could discourage Uber Eats from cutting prices or offering promotions that might hurt Grab.

Second, Uber’s stake would change Grab’s own incentives, even though Grab uses a dual-share structure that limits Uber’s voting power to 3.9 percent.

Third, the two companies have worked together closely in other markets, including Grab’s 2018 acquisition of Uber’s Southeast Asian business, which the commission said involved a transaction that both parties knew or should have known broke competition law. That history, the commission said, makes coordination easier to predict and maintain.

Fourth, Taiwan’s delivery market has high barriers to entry, because platforms need large amounts of capital and must attract enough restaurants, couriers and consumers. This leaves little room for new rivals to challenge coordinated behavior.

Singapore’s Grab to buy Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda Taiwan business for $600M