Delivery Hero could sell part of Asian business for $1 bln-report

BERLIN, Sept 20 (Reuters) – Delivery Hero (DHER.DE) is in advanced talks on a partial sale of its Asia business, the Wirtschaftswoche business magazine reported on Wednesday, saying Singapore’s Grab (GRAB.O) could pay a little more than 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion).

The Berlin-based company could sell its activities under the Foodpanda brand in Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand, according to Wirtschaftswoche, which cited sources familiar with the matter.

Investors in the online takeaway food company welcomed the report, lifting its shares as much as 13.5%.

Delivery Hero and Grab did not immediately reply to emailed requests for comment.

Delivery Hero has been focusing on reaching profitability while maintaining growth as investor confidence in the company started to wane after a pandemic-driven boost.

The group has said that it reached an adjusted profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the first six months of the year, although it did not quantify it, after a loss of 323 million euros in the same period a year earlier.

Last month, Chief Executive Niklas Oestberg said that Asia was the segment where the company saw most opportunity to invest.

Singapore internet firm Grab posted $567 million in revenue in the quarter that ended June 30 and expects to break even on an adjusted core earnings basis in the current quarter. Grab makes most of its sales from its food delivery business and has recently seen strong growth in its ride-share business.

($1 = 0.9334 euros)

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