The board of Just Eat has unanimously approved the takeover by Prosus, a South African-owned internet investor, in an all-cash deal. This comes six years after Prosus made its first attempt to buy the British part of the business.
The deal will be worth €20.30 per share for holders of Just Eat’s Amsterdam-listed shares, which is a 22% premium to its three-month high, but less than a fifth of its peak above €100 in 2020.
Just Eat has experienced a challenging period as a listed company. Its valuation grew during the Covid pandemic but has since faced a downturn due to bad investments.
The company was formed in 2020 from a merger between Britain’s Just Eat and its Dutch rival Takeaway.com, just before the pandemic. The combined company was once a member of London’s FTSE 100 index, with a valuation of £15bn. However, it made several missteps, including the acquisition of its US rival GrubHub at the peak of the pandemic bubble.
In late December, Just Eat delisted its London-listed shares to cut costs, further impacting the UK’s international financial standing.
Fabricio Bloisi, the CEO of Prosus, stated that the acquisition presents an opportunity to create a European tech champion. Prosus already has a significant presence in the food delivery sector outside of Europe and a proven track record of profitable growth through investment.
Prosus is owned by Naspers, a South African company with interests in various sectors such as media, online classified ads, payments, and education, as well as food delivery. Naspers’s success in the internet economy mainly stems from its investment in Tencent in 2001.
Prosus owns a considerable stake in various food delivery companies, including Delivery Hero, Meituan, and Swiggy.
Prosus aims to follow the growth path of another of its investments, iFood, a Brazilian food delivery company. It intends to use artificial intelligence to “revolutionize operations” at Just Eat Takeaway.com.
Just Eat has profitable cash-generating operations with considerable growth potential in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. Its CEO, Jitse Groen, stated that Just Eat Takeaway.com is now a faster growing, more profitable, and predominantly European-based business. Prosus fully supports the strategic plans of Just Eat Takeaway.com and will provide extensive resources to further accelerate investments and growth across food, groceries, fintech, and other adjacent markets.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/24/just-eat-takeaway-prosus-deal-delivery-hero
