Saudi Arabia’s quick-commerce startup Ninja is reportedly considering a move for parts of Delivery Hero’s Middle East business, adding a regional challenger to what has already become one of the most closely watched delivery-sector deal stories of the year.
Riyadh-based Ninja is weighing a bid for assets including HungerStation, Delivery Hero’s Saudi platform, and may also explore partnership structures involving Dubai-listed Talabat, according to a report by the Financial Times. The reported deliberations remain at an early stage, and no public statement from Ninja or Delivery Hero has confirmed a formal bid.
The potential interest is significant because it would put a fast-growing Gulf startup into a contest otherwise dominated by global delivery and technology groups. Delivery Hero, headquartered in Berlin, has been under mounting investor attention as shareholders assess whether the company’s regional businesses could be worth more separately than inside the broader group.
HungerStation Anchors the Saudi Delivery Market
HungerStation is not a peripheral asset for Delivery Hero. The company became the sole owner of the Saudi business in 2023 after buying the remaining 37% of HungerStation Holding Limited for $297 million. At the time, Delivery Hero described HungerStation as the leading food delivery player in Saudi Arabia, connecting more than 10,000 partners with customers.
Saudi Arabia’s delivery market has become more strategically important as consumer spending, urban logistics, and app-based services expand under the country’s broader economic diversification drive. A local buyer would likely see value not only in HungerStation’s customer base but also in its restaurant relationships, rider network, and brand recognition across the Kingdom.
Ninja, by comparison, has built its identity around quick commerce rather than traditional restaurant delivery. The company’s official Saudi platform, AnaNinja, focuses on rapid delivery of groceries, daily essentials, home care products, beauty items, baby care, pet supplies, and other consumer goods. That model could make HungerStation attractive as a way to broaden Ninja’s reach beyond dark-store commerce and into a larger food-and-grocery ecosystem.
Talabat Adds Another Layer to the Deal
Any discussion involving Talabat is more complex. Delivery Hero listed Talabat Holding plc on the Dubai Financial Market in December 2024, raising about $2 billion (AED 7.5 billion), which the company described as the largest global technology IPO and the largest GCC IPO of 2024.
Delivery Hero said at the time that it intended to retain a long-term majority indirect ownership position in Talabat. The company also disclosed that Talabat had generated $5.4 billion in gross merchandise value during the first nine months of 2024, with more than six million monthly active customers, over 65,000 active partners, and more than 119,000 active riders.
That scale makes Talabat a different kind of prize. HungerStation would give a buyer deeper access to Saudi Arabia. Talabat would offer exposure to a broader Middle East and North Africa delivery platform with public-market scrutiny, minority shareholders, and governance considerations that would likely make any transaction more layered.
Uber Puts Delivery Hero in Play
Ninja’s reported interest comes after Delivery Hero confirmed that Uber Technologies had approached the company with an indicative proposal of €33 per share for a a possible takeover offer to Delivery Hero shareholders.
Days earlier, Delivery Hero said Uber had increased its ownership to 19.5% of Delivery Hero’s issued capital, with a further 5.6% in options. That holding gave Uber a much stronger position around Delivery Hero’s future, even before any full takeover proposal.
Delivery Hero’s confirmation of Uber’s €33-per-share approach turned the company’s strategic review into a live deal situation, rather than a purely internal portfolio exercise.
The Delivery Race Is Getting Bigger
At the consumer level, the companies are competing for everyday habits: lunch orders, grocery baskets, pharmacy runs, coffee deliveries, and household essentials. At the investor level, the contest is about whether those habits can translate into durable margins after years of heavy spending on customer acquisition and logistics.
Delivery companies across global markets have been under pressure to prove that scale can produce sustainable profits. The Middle East offers a different profile from some mature Western markets: young demographics, high smartphone usage, dense urban areas, and governments eager to support digital commerce. Those factors have made the region increasingly important to international and local players alike.
Ninja’s reported interest also carries a national-champion angle. A Saudi startup pursuing a Saudi delivery platform would fit the Kingdom’s broader push to build local technology leaders, deepen capital markets, and keep more digital infrastructure under regional ownership. That does not remove financial or regulatory hurdles, but it changes the narrative from a simple overseas takeover story into a regional control question.
The key caveat is that no confirmed transaction exists. Ninja is reported to be considering a possible move, but there is no indication that a deal has been signed. Delivery Hero’s official disclosures confirm Uber’s approach, Uber’s shareholding, HungerStation’s ownership structure, and Talabat’s listing history, but they do not confirm a Ninja proposal.
