Bernstein Unconvinced Uber Will Win If It Appeals Against Taiwan FTC On Foodpanda Acquisition: Retail’s Upbeat On Stock

After Taiwan’s anti-trust regulator rejected Uber Technologies’ bid to acquire Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda, citing anti-competitive concerns, Bernstein reportedly said they remain unconvinced if Uber will win if it decides to appeal against the decision.

According to TheFly, Bernstein noted that seeing the deal get rejected was not very surprising.

The brokerage also opined that even if Uber decides to appeal against the FTC’s decision, it is not convinced that would be successful given that “the market share math that always felt like it was going to be an issue from the get-go.”

Earlier, Fair Trade Commission Vice Chairman Chen Chih-min reportedly said at a briefing in Taipei that Uber Eats' main competition comes from Foodpanda, highlighting that their combined market share would be over 90%.

“The merger would lead to far greater disadvantages from competitive restraints compared to the overall economic benefits,” Chen said, according to a Bloomberg report.

If the deal had gone through, it would have been one of Taiwan's largest-ever international acquisitions outside of the semiconductor industry.

After holding multiple public hearings and getting assurance from both firms, the FTC decided it would be difficult for potential rivals to enter the market.

“The combined business would lack competitive pressures, therefore increasing incentives for it to raise prices for consumers and for restaurants,” Chen said.

While retail investors had turned bearish on Thursday following the development, the sentiment has inched up into the ‘neutral’ territory (45/100) since.

UBER’s Sentiment Meter and Message Volume as of 7:01 a.m. ET on Dec. 27, 2024 | Source: Stocktwits

Retail chatter from Thursday evening shows investors are enthusiastic about the stock with a few believing it to be undervalued at current levels.

Uber shares haven’t reacted significantly to the news of the FTC rejection. The stock closed 0.24% lower on Thursday and was down 0.19% in Friday’s pre-market session as of 7:05 a.m. ET. Notably, the stock has gained just over 5% since the beginning of the year.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<