From flyers to Uber: A look at Baemin's 15-year M&A journey

"What kind of people are we?" "Fried chicken doesn't make you fat — you make yourself fat."

With irreverent, self-deprecating ads that captured younger generations, Baemin became one of South Korea's most celebrated startup success stories. Now, with global ride-hailing and delivery giant Uber moving in as its new owner, the platform's turbulent history of acquisitions and ownership changes is drawing fresh attention.

Investment banking sources said Baemin's parent company Delivery Hero (DH) recently notified prospective buyers that it was halting the sale process for Baemin. The move followed a merger agreement between Uber and DH. On July 16 (local time), Uber announced a cash tender offer of 41.5 euros ($48) per share targeting DH shareholders.

Baemin's origins trace back to June 2010, when designer-turned-entrepreneur Kim Bong-jin began collecting restaurant flyers from across the country, building a database and delivering the information through a mobile app. The venture is credited with reshaping South Korea's restaurant industry from an offline-centered model into a platform-driven one.

The corporate entity Woowa Brothers was incorporated in March 2011. Seed funding of 300 million won ($202,000) from early-stage venture investor Bon Angels Partners set off a string of major fundraising rounds. Baemin secured a combined 2.06 billion won from Altos Ventures, Stonebridge Capital and IMM Investment in 2012, followed by 40 billion won from Goldman Sachs in 2014 and 57 billion won from Hillhouse Capital in 2016. In 2017, Naver made a strategic investment of 35 billion won. The successive rounds reflected the market's high regard for the company's growth trajectory and long-term potential.

Backed by that capital, Baemin pursued aggressive marketing and infrastructure expansion, rapidly reaching a valuation of 3 trillion won and cementing its status as one of South Korea's core unicorn companies. It has held the top spot in the domestic online food delivery market since launching its app.

The turning point came in December 2019, when Germany's DH announced it would acquire an 88 percent stake in Woowa Brothers for $4 billion, valuing the company at around 4.7 trillion won.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission approved the deal on the condition that DH divest Yogiyo, the country's second-largest online food delivery platform it already owned, citing monopoly concerns. DH complied, selling Yogiyo to a consortium of GS Retail and Affinity Equity Partners for about 800 billion won in 2021 before completing the Baemin acquisition.

The COVID-19 pandemic then delivered a windfall for the delivery market, which expanded explosively. Baemin posted annual sales of 1 trillion won in 2020 and crossed the 5 trillion won mark for the first time in 2025.

Yet beneath the headline growth, the fundamentals began to crack. Free-delivery competition, rising rider costs and higher marketing spending pushed operating profit into decline. Coupang Eats, a late entrant, rapidly expanded its market share and closed in on Baemin, driving competition to an extreme. Along the way, Korean executives including then-CEO Lee Guk-hwan departed mid-tenure and were replaced by German management — prompting criticism that Baemin had lost its distinctive identity.

Legal risk at the parent company compounded the pressure. In June last year, the EU fined DH 329 million euros for allegedly colluding with European rival Glovo. With its finances strained and liquidity urgently needed, DH moved earlier this year to sell Woowa Brothers, with Meituan and Alibaba named among the prospective buyers as a final bidding round approached.

On July 16, however, the sale process came to an abrupt halt. Market sources said DH notified prospective buyers that day that it was terminating the Baemin sale. The reason: Uber had launched a tender offer the same day to acquire DH for 12.5 billion euros, reflecting an enterprise value of approximately $14.8 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2027, pending merger reviews by competition authorities in multiple jurisdictions.

The deal will make Woowa Brothers a subsidiary of Uber, instantly giving the American company the top position in South Korea's online food delivery market. The acquisition covers all of DH's operations across 50 markets, including Baemin in South Korea, Talabat and HungerStation in the Middle East, PedidosYa in Latin America, and Glovo in Europe and Africa.

Uber moved quickly after the announcement to signal that it would preserve and build on the Baemin brand. "Baemin is an iconic brand representing South Korea and has built an unrivaled position in one of the world's most dynamic markets," an Uber spokesperson said. "We deeply respect the competitiveness and value Baemin has built, and we will work together to drive continued growth and development on that foundation."