Food Delivery

Keeta records first profitable month in Saudi Arabia after 22 months as delivery price war bites

Sep 4, 2026

•

6 min read

Keeta records first profitable month in Saudi Arabia after 22 months as delivery price war bites

Keeta took 29 months to reach the same milestone in Hong Kong, where it launched in May 2023.

Jamie Lane

Results

Talabat generated 94% of Delivery Hero’s MENA profit as Saudi losses narrowed

Aug 28, 2026

•

5 min read

Talabat generated 94% of Delivery Hero’s MENA profit as Saudi losses narrowed

Regional GMV rose 11.6% even as profit slipped, with Saudi Arabia appearing to move back towards breakeven ahead of Uber’s €13B takeover of the Berlin group.

Jamie Lane

Public Markets

Inside Talabat’s numbers: is it undervalued?

Aug 19, 2026

•

14 min read

Inside Talabat’s numbers: is it undervalued?

Talabat underspent its defence budget against Keeta, raised its full-year guidance, and turned Egypt into a cash generator, proving its Q2 profit squeeze was more a calculated flex, than a stumble.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

SCOOP: Careem’s first public P&L reveals widening losses as growth slows sharply

Aug 3, 2026

•

7 min read

SCOOP: Careem’s first public P&L reveals widening losses as growth slows sharply

e& disclosures show the Everything App lost $122M at the operating level in the first half of 2026, while revenue growth slowed sharply before the Abu Dhabi group agreed to relinquish control.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Uber agrees €13B takeover of Delivery Hero, taking Talabat and HungerStation

Jul 16, 2026

•

3 min read

Uber agrees €13B takeover of Delivery Hero, taking Talabat and HungerStation

Delivery Hero's boards unanimously back the offer and Prosus has irrevocably committed to tender, lifting Uber's economic interest to around 53%, while every Middle East asset, Talabat's eight markets and Saudi Arabia's HungerStation, goes to Uber.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Ninja hires Goldman Sachs, Citi, UBS and Riyad Capital to advise on potential Delivery Hero asset bid

Jun 19, 2026

•

2 min read

Ninja hires Goldman Sachs, Citi, UBS and Riyad Capital to advise on potential Delivery Hero asset bid

A source told Asharq Business the Saudi q-commerce unicorn is working with four advisers as it weighs a move on HungerStation and parts of Talabat.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Why Deliveroo wants to bring Dubai diners inside the restaurant

Jun 17, 2026

•

16 min read

Why Deliveroo wants to bring Dubai diners inside the restaurant

Delivery platforms increasingly want to own the dining relationship from the moment you start deciding where to eat, rather than only the bit where the food turns up at your door.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Saudi unicorn Ninja weighs bid for Delivery Hero's Middle East assets as HungerStation founder eyes return

Jun 9, 2026

•

2 min read

Saudi unicorn Ninja weighs bid for Delivery Hero's Middle East assets as HungerStation founder eyes return

Ninja, which was valued at $1.5 billion during a fundraise last year, will initially focus on HungerStation, which would be easier to integrate and face fewer regulatory obstacles.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

To understand Saudi quick commerce, look to India

Jun 4, 2026

•

21 min read

To understand Saudi quick commerce, look to India

The Kingdom's grocery-delivery shakeout is really a fight between Amazon and Noon, one in which q-commerce is almost incidental, and its early acts have already played out in India.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Prosus wins EU waiver and moves to challenge Uber's pursuit of Delivery Hero

Jun 1, 2026

•

1 min read

Prosus wins EU waiver and moves to challenge Uber's pursuit of Delivery Hero

The development introduces a new obstacle for Uber, which has built a 37% economic stake in Delivery Hero at a €12 billion valuation.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Uber takes back controlling stake in Careem as e& sells 12.5% for $100M

Jun 1, 2026

•

2 min read

Uber takes back controlling stake in Careem as e& sells 12.5% for $100M

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.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

What Uber is actually buying inside Talabat and HungerStation

May 29, 2026

•

6 min read

What Uber is actually buying inside Talabat and HungerStation

Two MENA assets, HungerStation in Saudi Arabia and Talabat, account for much of what makes Delivery Hero worth roughly €12 billion to Uber.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Uber increases its Delivery Hero stake to 37% at €12B valuation

May 28, 2026

•

1 min read

Uber increases its Delivery Hero stake to 37% at €12B valuation

Uber now controls 24.99% of Delivery Hero's voting rights, positioned just below the threshold that would trigger a mandatory takeover offer under German law.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Uber tables takeover bid at €10 billion valuation for Delivery Hero as DoorDash circles Talabat and HungerStation

May 24, 2026

•

2 min read

Uber tables takeover bid at €10 billion valuation for Delivery Hero as DoorDash circles Talabat and HungerStation

DoorDash is primarily interested in Delivery Hero’s Middle East business, which includes Talabat and HungerStation, and is also seeking the Turkish arm Yemeksepeti.

Jamie Lane

E-Commerce

Alabbar says AI will halve Noon's staff in three months

May 22, 2026

•

2 min read

Alabbar says AI will halve Noon's staff in three months

The remarks at the Belgrade Business Summit follow Alabbar's earlier ambition to reduce Noon's driver headcount by half by 2027.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

May 19, 2026

•

2 min read

Uber emerges as Delivery Hero's largest shareholder, six years after MENA food delivery exit

The move arrives six days after Delivery Hero confirmed that its co-founder and chief executive Niklas Östberg would step down by 31 March 2027.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

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

May 13, 2026

•

3 min read

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

Aspex Management, now Delivery Hero's largest practical voting bloc after raising its stake to 15%, has called for withdrawals from entire regions, including the one now generating most of the group's profit – MENA.

Jamie Lane

Jordan

Careem makes sweeping layoffs across multiple markets, closes Berlin office

May 7, 2026

•

1 min read

Careem makes sweeping layoffs across multiple markets, closes Berlin office

The cuts span the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan and Germany, with Careem yet to publicly acknowledge them.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Exclusive: Careem is winding down most of its consumer services in Saudi Arabia

May 3, 2026

•

4 min read

Exclusive: Careem is winding down most of its consumer services in Saudi Arabia

Co-founder Abdulla Elyas confirms a 'strategic pause' as Careem strips most consumer services from its Saudi app, with the exception of Rides and Bikes.

Jamie Lane

Public Markets

At Delivery Hero, MENA is doing most of the heavy lifting

Apr 30, 2026

•

4 min read

At Delivery Hero, MENA is doing most of the heavy lifting

The Berlin-listed group's Gulf operations now generate roughly 60% of its EBITDA from 30% of its GMV. A regulator-mandated divestment of its largest shareholder will test what that engine is worth.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Apr 24, 2026

•

2 min read

Uber raises Delivery Hero stake to 7% as questions mount over the German group's Gulf food delivery empire

The transaction takes Prosus's stake from 26.3% to 21.8%, but the company must reach single digits by August 2026, meaning substantially more Delivery Hero stock will need to find buyers in the coming months.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Delivery Hero sells Foodpanda Taiwan to Grab for $600m as strategic review raises questions for Talabat and HungerStation

Mar 23, 2026

•

5 min read

Delivery Hero sells Foodpanda Taiwan to Grab for $600m as strategic review raises questions for Talabat and HungerStation

The framing of the deal as a "first step" in a JPMorgan-supported review leaves the door open to further portfolio reshaping.

Jamie Lane

Public Markets

Talabat proposes share buyback after stock drops more than 50% from IPO price

Mar 17, 2026

•

3 min read

Talabat proposes share buyback after stock drops more than 50% from IPO price

The buyback, subject to shareholder approval at the company's annual general meeting on April 13, would be executed over up to two years through open-market transactions on the DFM.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Careem confirms full service restoration after overnight AWS migration

Mar 3, 2026

•

2 min read

Careem confirms full service restoration after overnight AWS migration

The super app's rides, Hala, and payments services went down with Sunday's AWS outage.

Jamie Lane

Food Delivery

Talabat posts $9.5B in GMV and $464M net income for 2025, but shares remain ~54% below IPO high

Feb 20, 2026

•

3 min read

Talabat posts $9.5B in GMV and $464M net income for 2025, but shares remain ~54% below IPO high

The Dubai-listed delivery platform grew users 19% to 7.6 million and partners 22% to 84,000, while recommending $421 million in total dividends. The board has approved a $100M+ investment plan for 2026.

Jamie Lane