San Francisco, May 14 (IANS): Uber Technologies will acquire Delivery Hero's owned foodpanda business in Taiwan for $950 million in cash, as the online food ordering company focuses on other markets.

The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions and is targeted to close in the first half of 2025, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Separately, both firms have also entered into an agreement for Uber to buy $300 million in newly issued ordinary shares of Delivery Hero.

"In order to build a world-leading service, we have come to the conclusion that we need to focus our resources on other parts of our global footprint, where we feel we can have the largest impact for customers, vendors and riders," Niklas Ostberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Delivery Hero, said in a statement.

Until closing, Delivery Hero will continue to operate foodpanda Taiwan like before. In the period following closing, the company’s local consumers, merchants, and delivery partners will be moved to Uber Eats.

"Bringing together our distinct customer bases, merchant selections, and geographic footprints will allow us to deliver more choices and the best prices for consumers, stronger demand for restaurants, and more earnings opportunities for delivery partners," said Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Senior VP of Delivery at Uber.

He further said that Taiwan is a fiercely competitive market, where online food delivery platforms "today still represent just a small part of the food delivery landscape".

foodpanda is one of Asia's major online food and grocery delivery services, operating in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Delivery Hero, based in Germany, purchased the company in 2016.