PROSUS HAS OTHER FISH TO FRY AFTER TAKEAWAY BLOW

PROSUS hasn’t lost its appetite for food delivery, even after the e-commerce giant was defeated in an $8 billion (R115bn) bidding war for UK firm Just Eat plc. Takeaway.com last week declared victory in the battle for Just Eat, saying investors holding 80.4 percent of the shares had formally backed its all-stock bid and rejected a cash offer from Prosus. But the Naspers-controlled company has alternative targets to pursue, according to head of ventures and food, Larry Illg. “We continue to look at lots of different options in this space,” Illg said in an interview. Prosus has targeted food delivery as a key market for investment as more people opt to order in meals rather than cook. The company controls Delivery Hero in Germany and India’s Swiggy alongside iFood in Brazil. One option for further expansion could even see Amsterdambased Prosus going back to the negotiating table with Takeaway, which is based in the same city. The new owner of Just Eat has said it will consider selling the British firm’s 33 percent stake in iFood, in which Prosus is the majority shareholder. Prosus would consider buying more of the Brazilian firm, though an additional investment would have to make financial sense and won’t be “something that we would do at all costs,” Illg said. “It’s strictly about the financials, because it wouldn’t change anything about how we help manage the business,” he added. | Bloomberg