Just Eat turns down Prosus’ higher offer
LONDON: Just Eat Plc has rejected Prosus NV’s higher offer saying that the latest bid still significantly undervalues the company.
Prosus raised its offer for the British food delivery firm by 4.2% to 740 penceper-share offer on Monday.
Just Eat advised shareholders to stick with an all-share combination with Takeaway.com NV in a statement yesterday.
“The board recommends the Takeaway offer, which is based on a compelling strategic rationale that allows shareholders to participate in the upside potential of the enlarged group and, based on its own analysis, will deliver greater value creation to Just Eat shareholders than the Prosus offer of 740 pence per share in cash,” the company said in the statement.
Just Eat’s stock has been trading above the offer price as shareholders hold out for a bigger premium. It closed at 781 pence in London trading on Monday valuing the company at about £5.3 billion ($7 billion).
Analysts at Liberum said that the offer undervalued the company and was likely to be rejected by shareholders, while other analysts said Prosus’s bid could put pressure on Takeaway to bump.
Cat Rock Capital Management, which owns shares in both Takeaway and Just Eat, has said a Prosus cash bid would need to be 925 pence to compete with the merger.
“Prosus’ unsurprising increased hostile cash offer for Just Eat of £7.4 a share from £7.1, still doesn’t make it irresistible to shareholders, as it denies the potential growth of a combined Just Eat-Takeaway.com,’’ Diana Gomes, BI technology analyst, said.
“Sweetening from both sides is possible, even after Dec 27, in our view, with the new offer 5% below the UK online food-delivery leader’s last share price.’’
While the Takeaway.com deal values Just Eat shares at about 694 pence, the merger would create a sizeable European food-delivery company to compete with the likes of Uber Eats.
Just Eat shareholders would own about 52% of the newly-combined company.
Shareholders have until Dec 27 to accept Prosus’s new offer. Prosus needs investors with more than 50% of shares to agree to the deal for it to go through.