Uber on Thursday launched a ​public takeover offer for Delivery Hero that values the German food delivery company at $14.8 billion and ‌would create the world's largest food-delivery firm outside China.

The acquisition advances the U.S. ride-hailing firm's efforts to build a global presence in the food-delivery business as it faces intensifying competition from rivals such as DoorDash , which has been expanding aggressively abroad.

The transaction would ​create a platform spanning 99 countries with combined pro-forma gross merchandise value of $236 billion in 2025, the ​companies said in a joint statement.

Uber, which has made the acquisition conditional on a minimum ⁠acceptance threshold of 50% plus one share, will offer €41.50 ($47.58) in cash per share.

The offer represents a roughly 34% ​premium on Delivery Hero's three-month volume-weighted average share price prior to the takeover announcement, said the company.

Shares in Delivery ​Hero, which closed at €38.18 on Wednesday, were up around 5.7% in premarket trading in Frankfurt but dipped shortly after opening and were trading down about 1% at 0727 GMT.

-Reuters