Delivery Hero CEO to step down under activist pressure: what it means for talabat and HungerStation

Delivery Hero confirmed on Tuesday that its co-founder Niklas Östberg will step down as chief executive by 31 March 2027, after fifteen years in the role. The supervisory board aims to have a successor in place by the end of this year. Until then, Östberg will continue to lead the strategic review and any asset sales that come out of it.

The announcement follows an eight-week public campaign by Aspex Management, the Hong Kong fund run by Hermes Li, which has called for "wholesale changes in the management team" and raised its stake in Delivery Hero from 9.2% to roughly 15% on Monday.

The additional 5% block came directly from Prosus at a premium to the market. Prosus is required by the European Commission to reduce its Delivery Hero holding to below 10% by late summer as a condition of its acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway, with the residual stake non-voting and held by an independent trustee until disposed of.

Aspex arrives at Delivery Hero's 23 June AGM as the largest practical voting bloc in the room, having moved from third-largest shareholder to most consequential vote on the register in two months.

Aspex's letters to Östberg and the supervisory board, both seen by Reuters and Bloomberg in March, accused the management team of "value destruction" and "compliance and control failures", flagged a build-up of legal provisions and contingent liabilities at the group of more than €1.4 billion.

"Delivery Hero continues to operate across a vast number of countries and markets, 'investing' considerable amounts of cash flow to protect market shares across its portfolio."

Aspex also pointed out that while Delivery Hero claims market leadership in 53 of its 68 markets, it reports the lowest operating margins of any meaningful peer, with Uber, Grab, DoorDash and Meituan all sitting above it.

The letters named three regions where Aspex had particular doubts about Delivery Hero's ownership case: Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

The fund's expectation, as set out in the 12 March letter to Östberg, is that Delivery Hero "will identify all those assets where Delivery Hero is not the best owner and operator and the sale of such assets generates higher value", and that disposals must happen through "competitive sales processes" rather than bilateral deals.

The $600 million Foodpanda Taiwan disposal to Grab in March, presented by Östberg as "a key first step", was dismissed by Aspex as evidence that the asset's value had been "significantly eroded" and proof of the need for further divestments at better terms.

Aspex welcomed Tuesday's announcement in a statement issued within hours of Delivery Hero's confirmation, saying it supported the CEO transition and the ongoing strategic review.

As FWDstart laid out last week, the Berlin-listed group's Gulf operations now generate roughly 60% of its EBITDA from 30% of its GMV.

talabat, the DFM-listed entity in which Delivery Hero retains an 80% stake, reported a strong set of Q1 2026 results separately on Tuesday morning, with GMV up 19% year-on-year and the previously announced 5% share buyback commencing shortly after results. The share price has nonetheless traded poorly since listing in December 2024, echoing the Frankfurt-versus-MENA value gap at the DFM level.

HungerStation, the Saudi platform, sits outside the talabat listed perimeter and is owned 100% directly through the Delivery Hero structure. It is also under intensifying competitive pressure, with Keeta continuing to take share in Saudi Arabia and Jahez recently announcing a partnership with noon to offer food delivery within its super app.

The next chief executive will inherit both decisions, alongside an activist pushing for competitive sales rather than bilateral deals, and a regional food delivery market where Meituan's Keeta is steadily compressing incumbent margins.

Delivery Hero's stock closed at €23.55 in Frankfurt on Tuesday, against a 2021 peak of more than €130.

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