Just Eat is set to be acquired for €4.1bn (£3.4bn)—less than a third of its value at the height of the pandemic—marking a stark reflection of the post-Covid slump in takeaway demand.
The Anglo-Dutch delivery giant, listed in Amsterdam and known officially as Just Eat Takeaway, confirmed on Monday that it had agreed to a buyout by Dutch investment group Prosus at €20.30 per share. The move comes just two months after Just Eat dropped its dual listing in London.
While the offer represents a 49 per cent premium to the company’s average valuation over the past three months, it remains a steep discount compared to the €100 share price during the pandemic, when lockdowns supercharged delivery orders. At its peak in 2021, Just Eat Takeaway was worth £14.2bn.
The end of Covid restrictions has sparked a slowdown in takeaway spending, compounding Just Eat’s woes after a troubled foray into the US market. In 2021, the company spent $7.3bn (£5.8bn) acquiring New York-based Grubhub, only to sell it for a fraction of that—$650m—late last year.
Prosus’s new bid marks the latest chapter in its pursuit of Just Eat, having first tried to buy the business for £5.5bn in 2019. At the time, Just Eat instead chose to merge with Takeaway.com, led by the Dutch entrepreneur Jitse Groen, in a deal that valued the combined group at around £9bn. Since then, shares have plunged by around 80 per cent from their pandemic highs.
Just Eat remains under pressure in the UK, facing fierce competition from rivals Deliveroo and Uber Eats. Mr Groen said Prosus “fully supports our strategic plans, and its extensive resources will help to further accelerate our investments”.
Prosus—majority-owned by the South African media conglomerate Naspers—already has a strong presence in international food delivery, holding substantial stakes in Germany’s Delivery Hero, China’s Meituan, Brazil’s iFood and India’s Swiggy. Prosus chief executive Fabricio Bloisi called Just Eat a “European tech champion” in the making.
News of the takeover boosted shares in other European food delivery firms, with Deliveroo up 7 per cent and Delivery Hero climbing 8 per cent. Prosus’s own shares, however, dipped by about 7 per cent in early Amsterdam trading.
Analysts predict this move could trigger further consolidation in the fast-moving food delivery market. As the initial pandemic-fuelled surge in orders continues to recede, businesses are under pressure to expand revenue streams and cut costs to stay competitive.
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Just Eat snapped up at a fraction of its pandemic peak as appetite for takeaways wanes