Dec 25 Reuters Taiwan has blocked Uber Technologies39; 950 million purchase of Delivery Hero39;s Foodpanda business on the island due to anticompetition concerns, the Fair Trade Commission FTC said on Wednesday.

Uber, Delivery Hero and Foodpanda did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

In a media briefing, the commission stated that the merger is prohibited because its negative impact on market competition outweighs the overall economic benefits, and competition cannot be maintained through corrective measures.

In the food delivery platform market, UberEats39; main competitive pressure comes from Foodpanda. The merger would eliminate this competitive pressure…Postmerger, UberEats would be less constrained by competition, giving it more incentive to raise prices for consumers and even increase commissions for restaurant operators, said Chen Chihmin, vice chairman of Taiwan39;s FTC.

Chen added that postmerger, the combined market share of both companies in Taiwan would exceed 90 percent.

Uber and Delivery Hero announced the Taiwan deal in May, which also included a separate agreement for Uber to purchase 300 million worth of newly issued shares of the German food delivery firm.

The U.S. company expected the acquisition to contribute at least 150 million annually to the adjusted core profit of its delivery business within a year of the deal39;s closing, which was seen likely in the first half of 2025.

Online food delivery…