Uber in talks to acquire Turkish delivery platform startup Trendiol GO

Uber wants to make a comeback in Türkiye. This time, I’m betting on food. According to Bloomberg, the US ride and delivery giant is in talks to acquire Trendiol GO, a key player in Turkey’s booming grocery and grocery delivery market. If successful, the transaction will reenter Uber’s reentry into Turkey five years after leaving the market amid regulatory issues.

While no agreement has been signed yet, the debate is a clear indication that Uber is trying to double the global expansion of food supply, a region where competition is rapidly increasing.

“Uber Technologies Inc. is in discussions to acquire Turkish food delivery platform Trendior GO, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The terms of the transaction were not immediately learned. A final agreement has not been reached and consultations may not be over yet.

Why is trendy going?

Founded by Demet Mutlu in 2010, Trendyol has become the largest e-commerce player for turkeys. Its delivery division, Trendior GO, handled food and groceries drop-offs under a company 70% owned by Alibaba Group as of 2024, and Trendior is not only popular online.

Uber is leaning heavily towards the Eats business, which generated revenue of $13.7 billion last year and currently operates in more than 6,000 cities in 45 countries. Adding Trendyol gives you a turnkey way of reestablishing Uber into a portfolio with its infrastructure built in and reestablished in turco, which has an existing user base.

Why now?

Consumers’ appetite for food delivery in Turkey is climbing quickly. The convenience factor is attracting more users, and the local delivery scene has become one of the region’s most promising markets. It will be a timely opportunity for Uber. Especially as they are seeking new footholds after hitting a regulatory barrier in places like Taiwan, where bids to win Foodpanda fell apart earlier this year.

However, there is no guarantee that this transaction will cross the finish line yet. The talks are ongoing and any agreement may require sign-off from Turkish authorities.

The complex history of Uber in Türkiye

Uber doesn’t exactly start from scratch in Turkey. It was released there a few years ago, but left in 2019 after the court banned ride services, citing violations of local transportation rules. The app was pulled and the company retreated.

Still, interest never faded. Uber keeps an eye on the Turkish economy, and this potential acquisition offers a new way of doing so through delivery rather than ride sharing.

Competing terrain

The Turkish food delivery market is not under-competitive. Getir, Yemeksepeti and Trendyol Go are all fighting for control. Trendyol Go has logistics and brand recognition that makes it an attractive target. Meanwhile, Uber is looking for fresh momentum as it seeks to grow beyond traditional markets.

Buying Trendyol Go can potentially give Uber a stepping stone to more than just food. Trendyol’s grip on e-commerce means that Uber is tied to a bigger machine.

What’s getting in the way?

Türkiye’s regulated landscape has previously proven difficult, and again it may be. Foreign acquisitions of this scale will attract Uber’s past scrutiny, especially in a country that is still fresh in the minds of regulators.

And there is a wider economic situation. Political tensions are high, Turkish lira has won several hits, and the government’s approach to foreign operations is not always welcome. Continuing political development, as well as detention of economic movements from Istanbul’s mayor and President Erdogan, is a layer of unpredictability.

Another Wrinkle: Alibaba owns most of the Trendior. It is unclear whether the Chinese tech giant wants to leave the Trendior fragments completely or not. Trendiol is also reportedly trying to raise $1 billion for fuel growth, which could complicate the mathematics of the Uber aspect of the table.

What’s next?

If Uber pulls this off, it marks a smart calculated re-entry into a once-lost market. It also gives Uber a foothold on Turkey’s wider e-commerce push thanks to the trendy advantage.

But the challenge is true. Turkey is not an easy market, and Trendyol is not a lightweight acquisition. A successful transaction gives Uber a foothold in one of the region’s most active delivery markets and a second chance in a country that once showed it.

For now, both Uber and Trendyol are kept quiet. However, if the lecture goes anywhere, this could be one of the more interesting comeback stories in the food delivery space.