Grab Holdings (GRAB) said Wednesday it was disappointed after Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission blocked its proposed acquisition of Delivery Hero's Foodpanda business in Taiwan, citing concerns that the deal could weaken competition in the food delivery market.
The commission said Foodpanda and Uber's (UBER) Uber Eats are the market's two dominant platforms and that Grab's acquisition of Foodpanda would make Grab a direct competitor to Uber Eats.
It cited Uber's stake in Grab, ties between the companies and their past business interactions as factors that could reduce incentives to compete independently.
The regulator said it had considered potential remedies, including reducing Uber's stake in Grab, restricting board representation and limiting the exchange of competitively sensitive information. However, it concluded that the proposed measures would not adequately address competition concerns and that the deal's potential benefits did not outweigh the risks.
"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," a Grab spokesperson told MTNewswires.
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