Prosus shares climbed sharply on Tuesday, rising in excess of 10% after reports that the European Commission has given the technology investor an exemption allowing more time to lower its holding in Delivery Hero to a "single-digit" percentage. The extension pushes back the requirement that Prosus reduce its stake beyond the prior August deadline, but the Commission has not disclosed how long the additional period will last.
Market attention has focused on how Prosus might use the waiver. Company executives are reportedly weighing the option of temporarily increasing their stake from roughly 17% in order to either block a potential takeover by Uber or to strengthen Prosus' negotiating leverage in any deal talks. Those intentions were echoed in analyst commentary from Stifel, which said Prosus is considering a temporary uptick in its holding specifically to attempt to block Uber's potential takeover or to ensure a stronger bargaining position.
Stifel also set out balance-sheet context that could matter for any such move. The brokerage noted that Prosus had more than 13 billion in gross cash following completion of the Just Eat Takeaway and La Centrale acquisitions as of March 2026. Despite that cash cushion, Stifel stated it was unclear whether Prosus could build its position above the 25% threshold or rally enough shareholder support during the extension to deter Uber.
On share ownership, Stifel reported that Uber currently holds a 25% stake in Delivery Hero while Prosus' holding stood at 16.8% according to the brokerage. Market pricing reflected these developments; the snippets of intraday moves showed Delivery Hero shares up 3.19%, Uber shares up 4.79% and Prosus shares up 10.05% at the cited moments.
Regarding valuations and takeover scenarios, Stifel reiterated a "hold" rating on Delivery Hero and kept a 40 price target. The brokerage applied a probability-weighted merger-and-acquisition valuation framework that assumed equal probabilities for potential offers of 38, 40 and 42 per share. In Stifel's view, the recent uplift in Delivery Hero's share price has largely reflected the acquisition premium embedded in market pricing rather than changes to underlying operating forecasts.
Taken together, the European Commission's waiver introduces additional strategic room for Prosus in the near term. How Prosus elects to use that flexibility - whether defensively to block a bidder or offensively to secure a better negotiating stance - will depend on both its internal planning and the response of other shareholders, and that calculus remains uncertain given the undisclosed length of the extension.