German online food ordering platform Delivery Hero placed 68 million Class A shares in British food ordering online platform Deliveroo with institutional investors in late January 2024, with the sale for settlement on 1 February.

The shares translate to an approximately 4.5% stake and mark Delivery Hero’s exit from the London firm.

Delivery Hero placed the Deliveroo shares at a price of £1.13 ($1.43) per share with institutional investors in an accelerated bookbuilding process.

This strategic move is in line with Delivery Hero's commitment to disciplined capital allocation.

Delivery Hero acquired the stake in Deliveroo in 2021 for approximately £284m, when food delivery services were experiencing a surge in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the sector has since faced challenges such as food inflation and changing economic conditions, leading to a downturn in consumer ordering habits.

Deliveroo's fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023 earnings report indicated a slight increase in average monthly active consumers, up by 400,000 from the previous quarter. But despite this growth, the year-on-year comparison shows a 2% decline. The company's revenue remained relatively unchanged at £523m in Q4 2023, compared to £521m in the same period of the previous year.

Similarly, Just Eat Takeaway reported a 13% decrease in North American orders during Q4 2023, dropping from 77 million in Q4 2023 to 67 million. The company's gross transaction value also saw a 15% reduction in Q4 2023.

It was reported in September 2023 that Delivery Hero was in negotiations for a potential sale of its Foodpanda business in select south-east Asian markets including Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand.

In December 2023, Delivery Hero announced plans to shut down its global tech hubs in Turkiye and Taiwan.