Prosus bids €4.1 billion for delivery group Just Eat Takeaway

Amsterdam-listed tech investment company Prosus has made a €4.1 billion takeover bid for all shares in Just Eat Takeaway.

Just Eat Takeaway's board has unanimously supported the offer of €20.30 in cash per share, a premium of 63% on Friday's closing price.

“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 chairman Fabricio Bloisi said in a statement.

Just Eat Takeaway chief executive and founder Jitse Groen, who set up the original company Thuisbezorgd in 2000 when he was a student, said the takeover is an opportunity for further growth.

“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,” Groen said.

The company will retain its name and its Amsterdam base as well as its key brands.

The takeover comes several months after Just Eat Takeaway sold its US arm Grubhub for some $650 million to Wonder Group. Just Eat Takeaway paid $7.3 billion for Grubhub when it bought it during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 in an all share deal.

Since then, however, Grubhub's fortunes plunged and it faced strong competition from UberEats and DoorDash, among others. Its earnings were also pressured by maximum delivery fees imposed by the state of New York.

Just Eat Takeaway published its 2024 figures on Monday morning , announcing flat turnover of €3.6 billion, and gross profit of €460 million. Net profit was over €1.6 billion due to write-offs related to the sale of Grubhub.

In 2019, Takeaway was demoted to Amsterdam's Midkap index and its place was taken by then arch rival Prosus. At the time, the two companies were embroiled in a takeover battle for British delivery firm Just Eat, which Takeaway won.

Prosus, a technology stock and part of South African group Naspers, listed in Amsterdam in September 2019.