The planned all-cash offer comes after a difficult past few years for the firm, which had enjoyed booming business – and a soaring share price – during the pandemic when households were forced to eat at home
A Dutch technology investor has swooped in with plans to acquire Just Eat Takeaway.com in a deal estimated at 4.1bn euros (£3.4bn).
Prosus, majorly controlled by South Africa’s Naspers, is poised to put forward an offering of 20.30 euros (£16.85) per share with aims of forging a “European tech champion”. Currently holding a 28% share in Delivery Hero, a rival of Just Eat, Prosus is now looking to expand its portfolio.
After experiencing roaring success and a soaring share price during the pandemic due to increased demand for home dining, Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com’s fortunes took a sharp turn once lockdown restrictions eased, witnessing both trade and stock values drop off considerably.
Jitse Groen, CEO and founder, remained positive, asserting: “Just Eat Takeaway.com is now a faster growing, more profitable and predominantly European-based business.”
With the backing of Prosus, Groen anticipates a bright future, highlighting the potential acceleration in investments and growth across food, groceries, fintech, and related sectors, thanks to “Prosus fully supports our strategic plans and its extensive resources will help to further accelerate our investments and growth across food, groceries, fintech and other adjacencies. We are looking forward to an exciting future together.”
The takeover will retain Just Eat Takeaway.com’s Amsterdam roots and keep existing brands intact, as confirmed by the group. Meanwhile, Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi is looking forward to not only preserving but also increasing the workforce at Just Eat Takeaway.com, including both full-time employees and couriers.
The deal, he said, will “create more jobs in many dimensions, more jobs in the technology sector, but also more jobs with restaurants and more opportunities for drivers too”. He continued: “As we grow, the opportunity is to create more jobs… That’s the mood we have in Europe now, and that’s the mood we need in Europe now – invest to grow and create opportunities. That’s what we are doing.”
However, Mr Bloisi did not disclose specific figures regarding the number of employees or couriers. When questioned about assurances on courier working conditions, Mr Bloisi responded: “We are committing to keeping the way this operates today that is quite well recognised around Europe.”
He added: “Also, we are going to add new technology to try to make the deliveries more efficient and to try to help the growth. But our intention is not to enter and change everything.”
Following the acquisition, Prosus announced it would become the fourth largest food delivery group globally. Mr Bloisi expressed his enthusiasm, saying: “We are excited for Just Eat Takeaway.com to join the Prosus Group and the opportunity to create a European tech champion.
“Prosus already has an extensive food delivery portfolio outside of Europe and a proven track record of profitable growth through investment in our customer and driver experiences, restaurant partnerships, and world-class logistics, powered by innovation and artificial intelligence.”
The statement concluded with Prosus highlighting its ability to merge its “strong technical and investment capabilities” with Just Eat’s standing in key European markets. Prosus already boasts a sprawling food delivery empire that reaches across 70 nations.
This includes complete control over iFood in Latin America and stakes in several other major players: Delivery Hero, a 4% slice of the colossal Meituan, and a substantial 25% share in Swiggy, India’s freshly public food and grocery delivery service.
The company has long coveted Just Eat, having been pipped to the post by Takeaway.com in the race to acquire it back in early 2020. Since that setback, Just Eat made a bold but ultimately regrettable move by snapping up Grubhub for $7.3bn (£5.8bn) during the peak of the takeaway wave in 2021. However, the venture soured, leading to Grubhub being sold for $650m (£514m) last November.
In a bid to streamline operations amid cost-saving measures, Just Eat also retreated from the London Stock Exchange in December, opting to concentrate on its Amsterdam listing. Prosus is now poised to launch an offer for Just Eat “as soon as practically possible”, which market watchers anticipate could happen in the second quarter, with ambitions to seal the deal before the year’s curtain falls.
In a financial update this Monday, Just Eat laid bare its fiscal wounds, disclosing net losses of €1.65bn (£1.37bn) for the full year, exacerbated by an additional €1bn (£829m) impairment charge related to Grubhub. Stripping away these write-downs, the pre-tax losses shrank to €532m (£441m), improving slightly from €685m (£568m) in 2023.
