Just Eat Takeaway.com, a European giant in the area of food delivery, is poised to be acquired by Prosus, a Dutch technology investor.
It is currently known that the value of the mentioned deal will be about 4.1 billion euros ($4.3 billion).
The offer values Just Eat’s shares at 20.3 euros each. This represents a premium of 63% compared to the firm’s closing price on Friday, February 21st.
Prosus, which is majority-owned by South African Naspers, already holds a 28% stake in the leading food delivery company Delivery Hero.
On Monday, February 24, stocks of Just Eat showed an increase of 54.7%. The corresponding indicator reached a new 52-week high. The stock price was last seen trading 53.9% higher on the news.
At the same time, the value of Prosus shares showed a drop of 6.8%. This indicator has decreased to the bottom of the pan-European Stoxx 600 index. At the same time, the value of Delivery Hero shares increased by 3.2%.
Fabricio Bloisi, chief executive officer of Prosus and Naspers group, stated that the company is very excited for Just Eat to join the Prosus group and the opportunity to create a European tech champion. It was also noted that the firm believes that combining Prosus’ strong technical and investment capabilities with Just Eat’s leading brand position in key European markets will create significant value for its customers, drivers, partners, and shareholders.
The acquisition offer came after Just Eat had had several years that could not be described as successful. During the coronavirus pandemic, the company’s shares were on a downward trajectory. It is worth noting that this is not what can be called a rare or special case. During the coronavirus pandemic, the decline in the value of stocks has become a negative reality for all companies operating in the food delivery area. At the same time, the mentioned pandemic, at the initial stage of its formation as a global state of affairs, contributed to the growth of the business of firms from the specified industry. During the period of the most severe coronavirus lockdown associated with a difficult sanitary and epidemiological situation, consumers actively used the services of companies operating in the food delivery area. At the same time, there has been a transformation in consumer behavior since then. The corresponding changes have become a factor in slowing down the business growth of the mentioned companies.
At the end of 2024, Prosus was delisted from the London Stock Exchange. The reason for this was an effort to reduce the administrative burden, complexity, and costs associated with the disclosure and regulatory requirements of maintaining the LSE listing. Amsterdam is currently the company’s sole trading venue.
In November, Just Eat announced that it would sell its GrubHub arm to New York-based online takeout startup Wonder. At that time, it was stated that the cost of this deal would be $650 million. This is a huge discount compared to the $7.3 billion the company paid for the US food delivery app.
Jitse Groen, chief executive officer and founder of Just Eat stated that Prosus fully supports the firm’s strategic plans, and the extensive resources of the Dutch technology investor will help further accelerate the company’s investments and growth in the area of food, groceries, fintech, and other adjacencies.
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