Just Eat agrees to €4.1bn offer from Prosus

Just Eat Takeaway is set to be acquired by Dutch investment group Prosus for €4.1bn with a view to building a European food delivery champion.

The cash offer of €20.30 a share represents a premium of 63% to the formerly London-listed group’s stock value and has been unanimously recommended by Just Eat’s board.

If the deal goes ahead, it will end a troubled few years for Just Eat following a surge of sales through the pandemic and dealing with a drop-off in demand in the aftermath.

Prosus said that with its investment, Just Eat would be “well-positioned to strengthen its brands, enhance operations, and drive future growth well beyond its standalone potential”.

“We are very excited for Just Eat Takeaway.com to join the Prosus group and the opportunity to create a European tech champion,” added Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi.

“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 AI. We believe that combining Prosus’ strong technical and investment capabilities with Just Eat Takeaway.com’s leading brand position in key European markets will create significant value for our customers, drivers, partners and shareholders.”

Prosus previously sought to pick up Just Eat in 2020 when it engaged in a bidding war with the Netherlands-based Takeaway.com.

Following that deal, Jitse Groen has led the enlarged group and oversaw the takeover of Grubhub for $7.3bn, which Just Eat offloaded for just $650m in November.

Just Eat Takeaway also delisted from the London Stock Exchange in December as part of a cost-cutting drive to focus on its Amsterdam listing.

Groen said this morning: “Just Eat Takeaway.com is now a faster-growing, more profitable and predominantly European-based business.

“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.”