Business

FRANKFURT/MILAN, May 25 (Reuters) – Uber is weighing a raised takeover bid for rival Delivery Hero after its initial €33-per-share offer on Saturday was rebuffed, an FT report said, sending the German group’s stock up as much as 12.7% to their highest since late 2024.

At the 37.85 euro intraday high–a peak since November 29, 2024–Delivery Hero was valued at €11.5 billion ($13.4 billion). The German food delivery company’s stock was set for an 11th session of gains, or a jump of more than 80% over this period.

Delivery Hero, which has faced major shareholder pressure over strategy and earlier in May said its CEO would step down in March 2027, had said on Saturday that Uber had reached out with an indicative proposal of 33 euros per share.

On Sunday, the FT reported that Uber’s board met on Saturday to discuss raising its offer for Delivery Hero after approaching one of the German firm’s top shareholders with a 38-euro bid, which was rebuffed.

The FT said several shareholders were seeking a price of more than 40 euros per share.

Delivery Hero declined to comment beyond Saturday’s statement. Uber was not immediately available for comment.

Uber is already Delivery Hero’s largest shareholder after increasing its holding in the German company to 19.5% of issued capital from roughly 7% earlier this month.

Brokerage Jefferies, in a note to clients, pointed to “a myriad of antitrust issues to unravel,” given Uber overlaps with Delivery Hero in 22 markets, nine of which are in Europe.

($1 = 0.8595 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Danilo Masoni; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Bernadette Baum)

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May 24 (Reuters) – Uber’s board met on Saturday to discuss raising its offer for German food delivery group Delivery Hero after a major shareholder rebuffed an Uber bid that would value Delivery Hero over 11.5 billion euros ($13.39 billion), the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

($1 = 0.8590 euros)

(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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The trial pitting Elon Musk against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made clear the two billionaires agreed on one thing: building artificial intelligence would require significant resources — and enormous amounts of money.

It may seem obvious now, as an AI-obsessed stock market helps finance a global construction boom of chipmaking factories and energy-hogging data centers to keep chatbots running, but testimony and evidence showed how people with outsized control of the AI industry were privately debating its costs nearly a decade ago.

“Even raising several hundred million won’t be enough,” Musk said in a 2018 email to Altman and other OpenAI co-founders about what he increasingly saw as a futile attempt to compete with Google. “This needs billions per year immediately or forget it.”

The soaring costs factored into the trajectory of OpenAI, which began in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to developing AI for the common good and is now a capitalistic enterprise valued at $852 billion. As San Francisco-based OpenAI and other AI companies move toward historically large Wall Street debuts, the trial also raised questions about whether anything but commercial interests can steer AI’s future.

It is possible to build big things only with nonprofit money, but in the case of OpenAI’s early years, the uncertainty around AI also made it a risky investment, said Karan Girotra, a professor of operations, technology, and innovation at Cornell Tech. Now, he said, investment in AI is no longer speculative.

“Now it’s traditional investment in something we know works,” Girotra said. “People want your car, you need to build the factory ahead of demand.”

In his lawsuit, Musk accused OpenAI of betraying its charitable mission for building AI, saying Altman and fellow co-founder Greg Brockman went behind his back and unjustly enriched themselves. OpenAI, in turn, has said Musk supported plans to form a for-profit company and filed his 2024 lawsuit to undercut the ChatGPT maker’s success as he built his own AI company, xAI.

The federal jury in Oakland, California, never got to deliver a verdict on the merits of the case, determining Musk’s lawsuit missed a statutory deadline and dismissing it Monday after a three-week trial.

But the trial put on record details of internal battles that presaged today’s societal and political debates over AI’s impacts and costs.

“It’s sort of hard to imagine at this point, given where AI has gotten,” testified Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s chief technology officer, as he explained to jurors why his company opted to invest billions of dollars to help build OpenAI’s technology after founding donor Musk quit OpenAI’s board in 2018.

“It was before ChatGPT,” Scott said. “It was before these remarkable things that are happening right now and so most of the people at Microsoft were very skeptical about whether or not all of these claims were going to materialize into reality.”

Microsoft, a defendant in the lawsuit, at the time was also looking for a way to compete with Google in AI research. OpenAI told Microsoft what they needed was more data and more computing resources — and if they had that, their AI systems would grow far more powerful.

“The things that they wanted and ultimately that we helped them do were very capital-intensive projects like building giant data centers, full of very expensive computers and networks,” Scott said.

It remains in dispute how much profit was the prime motivator for the shift to OpenAI’s capitalistic enterprise, which is not yet profitable but likely headed for an initial public offering as soon as later this year.

What is clear, however, is how the costs involved constrained the company’s options.

More than five years before OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, the company had a breakthrough when it taught an AI system to beat professional players of Dota 2, a multiplayer video game featuring ogres, centaurs and other fantastical creatures.

“Honestly, the world reacted to it somewhat less than I thought they should have, but to us internally, it really felt like a moment where we had shown that our technology, using something called reinforcement learning, could take on an enormously complex task,” Altman testified.

OpenAI’s livestreamed victory against a top Dota 2 player at a Seattle competition in 2017 made the tiny nonprofit a major contender against Google, which was then seen as the leader in AI research. It also led to some soul-searching about how OpenAI could compete when it was a nonprofit, largely dependent on Musk and other donors.

“He was impressed,” Altman said of Musk. “And then immediately after the Dota win, Mr. Musk said he thought we really need to get more serious and figure out how to get way more capital.”

For another co-founder and OpenAI’s former chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, the Dota victory was the beginning of discussion about whether OpenAI should create a for-profit company to more easily raise money.

“The realization is that to make progress in AI, you need a big computer,” Sutskever told jurors. “And you need the big computer because the brain is a big computer. You have a hundred billion neurons and a hundred trillion synapses in the brain.”

What followed was a battle of wills — with Altman and Musk vying for leadership of OpenAI and Musk later trying to fold the AI laboratory into his car company Tesla. The other OpenAI leaders resisted, and Musk eventually quit.

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AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story.

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Investigators were combing through a New York City shipyard on Saturday trying to find the cause of a fire and an explosion that killed one person and injured more than 30 firefighters and other first responders.

Authorities provided no major updates to the incidents that occurred Friday afternoon in the Mariners Harbor neighborhood on the north shore of Staten Island. Besides investigators, some firefighters were at the site as a precaution Saturday, officials said.

Firefighters were called to the shipyard about 3:30 p.m. Friday on reports that there was a fire, heavy smoke and two workers trapped in a basement area, city Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said. Less than an hour later, as firefighters and emergency medical personnel were working the scene, an explosion rocked the site, officials said.

A civilian died, and another was wounded. Authorities said a fire marshal and a firefighter were seriously injured, while 29 firefighters had minor to moderate injuries and four emergency medical personnel had minor injuries. All were taken to area hospitals.

“We got very lucky this day,” Bonsignore said at a Friday evening news conference. “We got lucky in the sense that none of our people were killed. It’s unfortunate we had one fatality, and they did everything they could to get to that person.”

The name of the person who died had not been released as of Saturday.

The fire marshal who was injured, Christopher Cuccaro, suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed, said the fire department’s chief medical officer Dr. David Prezant. He was in critical but stable condition.

“We will be watching him very carefully over the next 24 hours to make certain there is not subsequent brain swelling. As long as there is not, he should do well,” Prezant said at Friday’s news conference.

Cuccaro and the other firefighter with serious injuries were wounded by the shock wave from the blast, Prezant said. The firefighter was doing “very well,” he said.

“Thankfully both of these firefighters do not have penetrating injuries and do not have blast injury damage to their organs, to their heart, lungs or abdomen,” Prezant said.

The fire and explosion happened in a 150-foot-by-150-foot (46 meters by 46 meters) metal structure at the back of the shipyard, Bonsignore said. Around 200 firefighters and emergency medical personnel responded.

Richard Oviogor, who was in the area, told WABC-TV that he heard two explosions and what seemed like a “big shock wave.”

The area is home to several businesses, including a coffee roasting company and a self-storage facility. The shipyard used to be owned by the Bethlehem Steel Company, which built ships for the U.S. Navy during World War II.

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Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak in New York and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.

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Iran Deal ‘Largely Negotiated,’ President Trump Says; Senior Republicans Voice Alarm  

President Donald Trump said Saturday that an agreement involving the United States, Iran, and several regional countries had been “largely negotiated.” However, several Republican lawmakers raised concerns about the proposed terms under discussion.  

In a Truth Social post, President Trump said he had spoken from the Oval Office with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain regarding “all things related to a Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE.”  

“An Agreement has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization between the United States of America, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the various other Countries, as listed,” President Trump wrote. He added that he had separately spoken with Netanyahu and said the conversation “went very well.”  

“Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly,” adding that “the Strait of Hormuz will be opened,” he concluded.   

Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham also expressed caution regarding a possible agreement. “This combination of Iran being perceived as having the ability to terrorize the Strait in perpetuity and the ability the inflict massive damage to Gulf oil infrastructure is a major shift of the balance of power in the region and over time will be a nightmare for Israel,” Graham wrote on X Saturday.  

Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the talks could shape President Trump’s legacy and urged him to “finish what we started.”  

Earlier Saturday, President Trump told Axios reporter Barak Ravid there was a “solid 50/50” chance the United States would either resume strikes against Iran or secure what he described as a “good” agreement.  

“I think one of two things will happen: either I hit them harder than they have ever been hit, or we are going to sign a deal that is good,” he said.  

The president added that the proposed arrangement should address uranium enrichment and Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, although Axios reported those issues were unlikely to be resolved immediately under the memorandum currently being discussed.  

Israeli broadcaster N12 reported that Netanyahu convened a meeting of his security cabinet over concerns the proposal would be unfavorable to Israel.  

The reported terms would involve Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for financial benefits, while discussions regarding Tehran’s nuclear program and enriched uranium stockpile would take place later. Iran’s ballistic missile program reportedly was not included in the talks. 

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May 23 (Reuters) – Uber and DoorDash have held exploratory talks with investors in rival Delivery Hero ahead of a possible takeover bid, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

Multiple investors have indicated they would seek a price above 40 euros ($46.41) per share for the German food delivery service, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Uber, DoorDash and Delivery Hero did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not verify the report.

Delivery Hero’s board is mulling either a total sale or a series of deals that would spin off the group’s Middle Eastern and South Korean divisions, the FT said.

Uber has more than doubled its stake in Delivery Hero, becoming the largest shareholder, the company said last week.

Delivery Hero said its U.S. rival had increased its holding to about 19.5% of issued capital from roughly 7%. The stake is worth around 1.7 billion euros, according to Reuters calculations.

The German group’s CEO Niklas Oestberg said last week he would step down, following campaigns by several large shareholders for a strategic review.

DoorDash is primarily interested in the group’s Middle East business, which includes Talabat and HungerStation, the FT said.

Both suitors may yet decide to abandon their pursuit and any transaction could be blocked by regulators, the report said.

Bloomberg reported on Friday that Uber was exploring a full takeover of Delivery Hero.

($1 = 0.8619 euros)

(Reporting by Anusha Shah in BengaluruEditing by Tomasz Janowski)

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May 23 (Reuters) – German food delivery service Delivery Hero confirmed it had received a takeover offer from rival Uber valuing the company at 33 euros ($38.29) per share, it said in a statement on Saturday.

The offer represents a discount of about 1.76% from Delivery Hero’s last close on Friday, according to LSEG data.

Delivery Hero said last week its U.S. rival had increased its holding to about 19.5% of issued capital from roughly 7%, becoming its largest shareholder. The stake is worth around 1.7 billion euros, according to Reuters calculations.

The German group’s CEO Niklas Oestberg said last week he would step down, following campaigns by several large shareholders for a strategic review.

The company reiterated that it was fully focused on executing its strategic review process, without disclosing additional details on Uber’s offer.

Bloomberg reported on Friday that Uber was exploring a full takeover of Delivery Hero, after which Uber shares fell 1.6%.

($1 = 0.8619 euros)

(Reporting by Anusha Shah in BengaluruEditing by Tomasz Janowski)

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BEIJING (AP) — A gas explosion at a coal mine in China’s northern Shanxi province killed at least 82 people, local officials said Saturday, in what was the country’s deadliest mining accident in recent years.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the accident at Changzhi city’s Liushenyu coal mine happened on Friday evening.

At a news conference late Saturday, local authorities said 82 were dead and that more than 120 people were hospitalized. Two were still missing. The death toll was a revised, lower number from earlier reports by state broadcaster CCTV that said 90 had died.

The scene at the coal mine was “chaotic” in the immediate aftermath of the accident, they said, and figures provided at the time were initial and not definite.

The explosion was under investigation, local officials said, adding there were “serious violations” of the law by the mine’s operator. They did not elaborate on any specific violations.

Earlier on Saturday, Xinhua reported that rescue work was pressing on a day after the accident, with hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel sent to the site. Among the injured, many were hurt by toxic gas, according to CCTV.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an all-out effort to rescue the missing, Xinhua reported. Xi also called for a “thorough investigation” and accountability “in accordance with the law.”

Xinhua later reported that those responsible for the company involved in the mine accident have been “placed under control,” citing the local emergency management bureau.

An investigation team sent by China’s powerful State Council, equivalent to the country’s Cabinet, would be conducting a “rigorous and uncompromising” probe into the deadly explosion, a separate Xinhua report said following Xi’s remarks.

Wang Yong, one of the hospitalized miners, told CCTV in a video interview that he smelled sulfur “like firecrackers” and saw smoke.

“I told people to run,” he said. “As I ran, I saw people being choked by the smoke. And then I blacked out.”

The state broadcaster also reported that blueprints provided by the coal mine did not match the actual layout, hampering rescue efforts.

The coal mine, operated by the Shanxi Tongzhou Coal & Coke Group with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons, was placed on a national list of disaster-prone coal mines by China’s National Mine Safety Administration in 2024 for having “high gas content.”

Shanxi province is known as China’s main coal mining province. With a size larger than Greece and a population of around 34 million, the province’s hundreds of thousands of miners dug 1.3 billion tons of coal last year, almost a third of China’s total.

In China, coal remains a key energy source due to its lower cost and high availability, even as the country accelerates its transition toward green energy. Mining disasters have been common although authorities had implemented measures to improve safety over the past years.

In February 2023, 53 people were killed after a collapse at an open-pit mine in northern China’s Inner Mongolia region. In November 2009, an explosion at a mine in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province killed 108, according to state media.

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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Two separate traffic accidents in Cambodia on Saturday killed at least 14 garment factory workers and injured 79 others, mostly women.

The garment sector is Cambodia’s main export earner, with low labor costs being its competitive advantage. Salaries, including overtime, generally amount to $200-300 a month.

The first incident occurred in the province of Kampong Chhnang, approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of the capital, Phnom Penh, when a heavy cargo truck crashed into an open-top truck transporting workers to their factory. Nine people were killed and 44 injured, according to a statement issued by the Labor Ministry.

The second crash occurred in the southeastern province of Svay Rieng, one of Cambodia’s main garment-factory hubs. A bus carrying workers veered off the road and overturned, killing five and injuring 35 others.

Flatbed trucks are the usual method of transportation available for workers. They often lack seats or benches, forcing passengers to stand, significantly increasing the risk of injury or death.

The Labor Ministry statement said 74 of the 93 crash victims were female, roughly matching the proportion of women in the garment sector workforce. Labor Minister Heng Sour said in a speech for International Women’s Day in March that about 80% of Cambodia’s garment workers are female.

The Labor Ministry stated it was “deeply shocked by two horrific traffic accidents that occurred simultaneously” and appealed for strict compliance with traffic laws to prevent accidents.

A Transport Ministry report notes that 1,467 people were killed in traffic accidents in 2025, making it by far the leading cause of deaths by accident in the Southeast Asian nation.

Cambodia’s garment sector, comprising clothing, footwear, and travel items, employs an estimated 800,000 to 1 million people in approximately 1,900 factories, with production accounting for more than $15.5 billion in exports last year, according to the country’s Ministry of Commerce.

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This story has been amended to correct the number of injured to 79. It had earlier reported an injury total of 93, based on inconsistent figures given earlier by officials.

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By Dan Catchpole

SEATTLE, May 22 (Reuters) – Boeing was found not guilty of hiding safety problems with 737 MAX jets sold to LOT Polish Airlines last decade, a jury ruled Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

LOT had accused Boeing of defrauding it by withholding a critical change to the popular single-aisle jet’s flight-control systems. The change was linked to two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that led to the jets being grounded around the world for 20 months.

The airline was seeking $153 million in damages that it said resulted from the grounding.

After a two-week trial, the jury members deliberated for three hours. 

“We are gratified by the jury’s verdict in our favor today,” a Boeing spokesperson said. 

LOT issued a statement acknowledging the outcome but leaving room for an appeal.

“As the legal process may not yet be concluded, LOT will not comment further on the details of the proceeding at this stage,” the company said.

(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by William Mallard)

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