FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Delivery Hero shares reacted on Wednesday with significant gains to statements by the food delivery service regarding possible further sales of parts of the company. On the Tradegate trading platform, they rose by just over 7 percent to EUR 21.41 compared to the Xetra closing price. However, they have lost almost 27 percent of their value so far this year.
Following the recent weakness in the share price between mid-September and mid-November, the MDax company said in a letter to shareholders on Tuesday evening that management wanted to focus on value enhancement through operational and financial improvements and also examine strategic options. Specifically, Delivery Hero mentioned the evaluation of strategic partnerships and the examination of capital market transactions for national subsidiaries.
Just recently, the Bloomberg news agency reported that Delivery Hero was under pressure from major shareholders to conduct a strategic review and consider selling the company or parts of its business due to increasing consolidation in the delivery industry. Now Delivery Hero is responding to this pressure, said one trader.
Analyst Monique Pollard of US bank Citigroup was not surprised by the positive pre-market reaction of the stock. However, she pointed out that regulatory restrictions could complicate potential sales of assets to major competitors in key markets. She recalled the agreement that the US company Uber wanted to buy Delivery Hero's Taiwanese business, but that it was terminated due to the local competition authority not granting approval. /ck/stk
