Delivery Hero investor Aspex calls on CEO to step up turnaround or face ouster

By Christoph Steitz and Alexander Hübner

FRANKFURT/MUNICH, March 13 (Reuters) - A top Delivery Hero DHER.DE shareholder has threatened to push for a change of leadership unless the German online takeaway food group makes fast progress in an ongoing strategic review.

Aspex Management said in a letter addressed to Delivery Hero CEO Niklas Oestberg, which was seen by Reuters, there had been little progress and warned of further value destruction if not enough is done by the company.

Aspex declined to comment on the letter, which was dated March 12, while Delivery Hero had no immediate comment.

Hong Kong-based Aspex's comments add to pressure on Delivery Hero's management, which announced in December it would reassess its capital allocation and certain country operations.

Aspex said it doubted Delivery Hero was the best owner for selected businesses in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America and that unless there was progress soon, it would "assess all legal courses of action available".

These included "initiating steps that aim at ultimately changing the leadership of the company", it added.

"Our expectation is that you will identify all those assets where Delivery Hero is not the best owner and operator and the sale of such assets generates higher value for the Company and for its shareholders ... than Delivery Hero continuing to operate such businesses," Aspex said in the letter.

The sale of individual country divisions or minority holdings would not "constitute a believable and acceptable" outcome of the review, Aspex added.

Aspex, Delivery Hero's third-largest investor with a 9.2% stake worth 474 million euros ($542 million), has been on the German company's shareholder register since 2020.

($1 = 0.8743 euros)