Uber pauses Europe food delivery expansion as it pursues Delivery Hero deal, FT reports

July 5 (Reuters) - Uber has paused the majority of its planned food delivery expansion in Europe just months after announcing the plans as the ride-sharing company continues to pursue a takeover of Delivery Hero, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Uber no longer plans to launch food delivery in five of the seven countries it had targeted for expansion this year, including Austria, Norway and Greece, the report said. It did not identify the other two countries.

Earlier in the year, Uber said it planned to expand its food delivery business into seven new European markets - Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Czech Republic, Greece and Romania. 

The company expected the move to generate an additional $1 billion in gross bookings over the next three years.

The San Francisco-based company, however, is still seeking to acquire Delivery Hero, according to the FT report. 

Delivery Hero said in May it had received a €33-per-share ($37.74) offer from Uber, and Reuters reported that the U.S. company had raised its stake in the German food delivery company to nearly 37% from 25% after buying a stake from fellow shareholder Aspex Management. 

Reuters could not verify the FT report. Delivery Hero declined to comment, while Uber did not respond to requests for comment.

Uber told the FT it had decided to halt its expansion after the “huge success” of launches in Finland and Denmark, with plans to “focus on continuing the momentum” in existing markets.  

($1 = 0.8745 euros)

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Louise Heavens)