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Uber is acquiring a controlling stake in Careem Technologies through a combination of additional capital and the purchase of a 12.5% shareholding from e& for $100 million in cash, the UAE telecoms group disclosed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Monday.
The transaction reduces e&'s stake from 50.03% to 37.53% and reverses the 2023 deal in which e& acquired majority control of the Careem Super App for $400 million.
e& retains a put option allowing it to require Uber to purchase its remaining shares, with Uber holding a reciprocal call option, both exercisable between December 2031 and January 2032. e& said the deal reflects its "increased strategic focus on its core businesses and disciplined capital allocation priorities."
Careem co-founder and CEO Mudassir Sheikha said the move "brings Careem and Uber back into a closer, deeply familiar alignment," noting that GTV across core services grew almost five times over the past two years.
Uber regains control of a company in the middle of a significant restructuring with FWDstart reporting last month that Careem had made sweeping layoffs across multiple markets and closed its Berlin engineering office entirely, with cuts affecting staff in the UAE, Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan across marketing, engineering, data, operations and finance.
That followed FWDstart's exclusive reporting that Careem was winding down most consumer services in Saudi Arabia, with Sheikha's co-founder Abdulla Elyas confirming a "strategic pause" of quick commerce in the Kingdom roughly 13 months after launching grocery delivery in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia was one of the three priority growth markets e& identified in its 2025 annual report, which noted 92% GTV growth and described Quik as "a central engine of growth."
The e& leadership that championed the Careem acquisition has also changed. Hatem Dowidar, the group CEO who oversaw the $400 million deal, was succeeded by Masood M. Sharif Mahmood on 1 April in what e& described as a planned transition. e& originally framed the acquisition as a vehicle to "lead in the UAE and accelerate growth in KSA.
The timing is particularly interesting given Uber's simultaneous pursuit of Delivery Hero.
Uber has built a 37% economic stake in the German food delivery group at a €12 billion valuation and is weighing a formal tender offer that would give it control of Delivery Hero's 80% stake in Talabat and 100% of HungerStation, the Saudi market leader.
Taking back control of Careem while pursuing Delivery Hero would give Uber direct or majority ownership of three of the largest food delivery and super app platforms in the Gulf.
Uber originally acquired Careem in 2020 for $3.1 billion before selling majority control of the super app (food, grocery, fintech) to e& in 2023 while retaining the ride-hailing business.
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