Delivery Hero CEO Niklas Östberg speaking at the Noah tech conference in Berlin on June 13, 2019.
Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg via Getty Images
Delivery Hero CEO Niklas Ostberg said that he’s happy holding onto the Foodpanda brand, after reports that talks of potentially selling the Southeast Asian unit had collapsed drove a huge plunge in shares.
Delivery Hero shares surged 11% Wednesday afternoon in European trading, extending gains from earlier in the day.
The German food delivery firm on Wednesday reported a 9% bump in total segment revenues to 10.5 billion euros ($11.2 billion) in 2023 and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization of 253.3 million euros.
The company also restated its guidance for annual 2024 adjusted EBITDA of between 725 million euros and 775 million euros — which would mark a tripling from 2023. The results confirm preliminary earnings from Delivery Hero, which the company issued in recent weeks in response to a sharp plunge in its shares.
Earlier this month, a report from The New Straits Times said that talks by Delivery Hero to sell its loss-making Southeast Asian business Foodpanda had collapsed, panicking investors who fled the shares out of concern that the company wouldn’t be able to cash out its ownership.
Selling Foodpanda remains an option that Delivery Hero is considering, and talks about a potential sale are ongoing, a company spokesperson said in a statement following the report.
But Ostberg said that he is happy to retain Foodpanda in Southeast Asia, suggesting that he’s confident about remaining committed to the business and doesn’t feel an urgent need to sell.
“I’m more than happy to hold onto it forever,” Ostberg told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday. “The business has turned breakeven now, [and] that’s good [that] it’s not a drag on our profitability anymore, that’s nice.”
He added, “[Foodpanda] will be one of our faster-growing regions. There’s still so much growth potential there, [and] we very much like the asset. I guess we always have to act rational towards investors if someone offers a price that is higher than what we think we can generate for it over the years.”
“By no means are we forced to sell, we are not building a business to sell it, we are building a business because we love a good service. We believe we can generate good return for our shareholders there. We still have to act rational if someone offers a price that we feel is good value.”
Ostberg declined to comment on what price he anticipates attaining for Foodpanda, but said that he sees it fetching a “a lot of value.”
Delivery Hero, one of Europe’s largest food delivery apps, has faced recent pressure from investors over its ability to make a solid return on businesses it’s wholly or partly acquired.
Now, Delivery Hero is attempting to claw back from the brutal share price plunge, which brought the company’s stock to its lowest level since 2022. That came after Delivery Hero announced a deal to divest its entire stake in the British food delivery company Deliveroo.
Delivery Hero at the time denied the report and pushed back on speculation that a collapse in talks was imminent.
Shareholders reacted positively to the development, but the stock has yet to recover all of its losses since the company offloaded its shares in Deliveroo.
Employees stand near an The Amazon Inc. logo is displayed above the reception counter at the company’s campus in Hyderabad, India, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2019.
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Amazon on Wednesday committed to investing over $35 billion in India’s cloud and artificial intelligence space by 2030, as hyperscalers race to get a foothold in the market.
The commitment, unveiled at the Amazon Smbhav Summit in New Delhi, builds on nearly $40 billion already invested in the country.
In a press release, Amazon said the new funds will target AI-driven digitization, export growth and job creation, aligning with India’s national priorities to build up its local AI environment.
By 2030, Amazon said the plan is expected to generate an additional 1 million direct, indirect, induced and seasonal jobs in India, quadruple exports to $80 billion and deliver AI benefits to 15 million small businesses.
The investment highlights Amazon’s bet on India’s booming digital economy, where it has been building fulfillment centers, data centers and payments infrastructure.
It also comes soon after Microsoft announced plans to invest $17.5 billion in India’s AI infrastructure as Big Tech players accelerate their push into the market.
“We are humbled to have been a part of India’s digital transformation journey over the past 15 years,” said Amit Agarwal, senior vice president for emerging markets at Amazon.
“Looking ahead, we’re excited to continue being a catalyst for India’s growth, as we democratize access to AI for millions of Indians.”
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella appears at an event with tech CEOs and senior officials, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the East Room of the White House in Washington on June 22, 2023.
Chris Kleponis | CNP | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Microsoft on Tuesday announced it would invest $17.5 billion in India’s cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure, making it the U.S. tech giant’s largest investment in Asia.
The company said that the investments, aimed at expanding hyperscale infrastructure, embedding AI into national platforms, and advancing workforce readiness, will be spread over 4 years, building on its $3 billion pledge made in January.
The announcement follows a meeting between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which the two discussed India’s AI ambitions. Modi met with other tech CEOs on Tuesday too including Intel‘s Lip-Bu Tan.
In a post on social media, Nadella thanked Modi and said that Microsoft’s investments would “help build the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India’s AI first future.”
The move comes as India attempts to catch up on AI, with Modi emphasizing building a comprehensive tech ecosystem and AI sovereignty. The country has also recently attracted data center investment pledges of $15 billion from Google and $8 billion from Amazon Web Services.
“The youth of India will harness this opportunity to innovate and leverage the power of AI for a better planet,” Modi said in a post on X, referring to Microsoft’s investment.
Microsoft plans to use the funds to scale up its existing cloud and AI infrastructure to serve customers across regions in India. It now provides “Sovereign Public Cloud” and “Sovereign Private Cloud” services in several regions.
The company added that it was doubling its January commitment to train 20 million Indians in AI by 2030, with hopes to grow and skill its more than 22,000 employees in the country.
Microsoft also announced on Tuesday that it would be integrating its Azure AI capabilities into two key digital public platforms of India’s Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National Career Service.
India’s Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw called the investment a signal of India’s rise as a reliable global technology partner, accelerating the shift from digital to AI public infrastructure.
While India lags far behind global leaders in advanced technologies like chips and AI, the country’s massive consumer market and public funding have attracted major tech players.
Under its “India Semiconductor Mission,” the country has approved 10 chip projects with total investments of over $18 billion.
On Monday, American chip designer Intel signed a deal with Mumbai-based Tata Electronics aimed at collaborating on chip offerings in the country, including on products for AI applications.
An eagle is seen framed though construction fence on the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building, the main offices of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on September 16, 2025 in Washington, DC, U.S.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images News | Getty Images
On Wednesday stateside, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower its benchmark interest rates by a quarter percentage point to a range of 3.5%-3.75%.
However, given that traders are all but certain that the cut will happen — an 88.6% chance, to be exact, according to the CME FedWatch tool — the news is likely already priced into stocks by the market.
That means any whiff of restraint could weigh on equities. In fact, the talk in the markets is that the Fed might deliver a “hawkish cut”: lower rates while suggesting it could be a while before it cuts again.
The “dot plot,” or a projection of where Fed officials think interest rates will end up over the next few years, will be the clearest signal of any hawkishness. Investors will also parse Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference and central bankers’ estimates for U.S. economic growth and inflation to gauge the Fed’s future rate path.
In other words, the Fed could rein in market sentiment even if it cuts rates. Perhaps end-of-year festivities might be muted this year.
