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FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Reports about a possible partial sale of the Asian business for a sum of billions have given a powerful boost to the shares of food delivery company Delivery Hero on Wednesday. They shot up by 13.5 percent at the peak in the afternoon and were ultimately still up 5.6 percent at 31.45 euros, making them one of the biggest winners in the MDax mid-cap index. For the time being, however, they were unable to confirm the interim jump above the 21-day line as an indicator of the short-term trend.

According to information from the "Wirtschaftswoche", Delivery Hero is said to be in advanced talks about a sale of its activities under the Foodpanda brand in the countries of Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand. Possible buyer could be Grab from Singapore, according to the report. The competitor of the MDax group had already begun to examine the Foodpanda businesses and could pay the equivalent of more than one billion euros to Delivery Hero. The remaining Foodpanda markets Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Laos, Pakistan and Taiwan are apparently to remain with Delivery Hero for the time being.

Delivery Hero shares had already risen before this thanks to positive analyst opinions and thus stabilized further. In the previous week, they had fallen to the lowest level since May 2022 at 28.64 euros. Since the beginning of the year, the shares have lost almost a third of their value. However, analyst Christian Salis of Hauck & Aufhäuser Investment Banking believes that the shares can double in price to 65 euros. After the correction of market expectations at the beginning of the year, the news situation should improve, says the expert. The efficiency plan is being implemented and sales growth has picked up. In the second half of the year, he expects a significant improvement in profitability.

JPMorgan also expressed optimism, with analyst Marcus Diebel confirming his "Overweight" rating with a price target of 57 euros. Investor focus is once again on cash and thus on the food supplier's financial situation, he wrote in a research note. He assumes that the company will be able to repay its debts on its own. Therefore, any hint of an improvement in the balance sheet is likely to be essential to improve investor sentiment./niw/gl/jha/