Grab Holdings Ltd.‘s proposed acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda delivery business in Taiwan will have little impact on its credit profile, S&P Ratings said Wednesday.

The rating agency said in a note that delivery Hero’s Taiwan delivery business is profitable but will only marginally improve Grab’s earnings quality.

This is because additional investments for a new Taiwanese platform as well as the transition of users, merchants, and drivers to a new platform could restrict synergies in the immediate term.

“Grab’s entry into Taiwan nevertheless marks its first market outside its core Southeast Asia operations,

“We expect the acquisition to lift gross merchandise value of Grab’s delivery business by more than 10 percent, which should partly offset execution risks,” it said.

On March 23, 2026, Grab (BB/Positive/–) announced the acquisition of Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda delivery business in Taiwan for $600 million.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, and Grab expects to complete it in second half of 2026.

“The positive outlook on the rating reflects our expectation that over the next 12-18 months Grab will maintain its position as Southeast Asia’s dominant mobility and deliveries platform operator,

“We maintain our forecasts for Grab’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) at $700 million-$800 million in 2026 and 2027, compared with about $583 million in 2025,” said S&P.

The rating agency estimated the company’s debt-to-EBITDA ratio to trend toward 3x by 2027 from about 4 times in 2025 and consistent with its earlier base case.

“We do not deduct Grab’s available cash surplus from its gross debt. Grab will use available cash to fund the purchase,

“This will have negligible effect on its sizable cash buffer of more than $6.6 billion as of end-2025 and will not affect Grab’s credit metrics,” it noted.

The positive outlook also reflects S&P’s view that Grab will maintain a conservative approach toward leverage management. Grab’s recent corporate actions signal an increasing appetite for growth.

It is noted that the Foodpanda deal is Grab’s second announced transaction in two months.

In February 2026, Grab announced its intention to acquire a 50.1 percent stake in Stash Financial, a U.S.-based digital investing platform for a consideration of $425 million.

Unlike the all-cash payment for the Foodpanda business, Grab is funding the Stash transaction through a mix of cash and stock.

“We expect Grab will maintain a similar measured approach toward future growth opportunities as well,” said S&P.

Grab’s Foodpanda Taiwan deal offers scale and new growth options – Maybank