Just Eat goes Dutch for £9bn merger with rival

JJUST Eat and Dutch rival Takeaway.com are merging to create one of the biggest online food delivery companies in the world, both firms have revealed.

The £9 billion deal will see the Amsterdam-based firm buy Just Eat at 731p a share, valuing the British business at £5 billion - a 15 per cent premium on the share price on Friday.

But investors appeared to believe a rival bid could be in the offing, with shares soaring 156p, or 25 per cent, to 791.6p - significantly above the offer price.

Canaccord analyst Nigel Parson said: “It is a possibility that Delivery Hero could table a rival bid.”

The boards of Just Eat and Takeaway.com have recommended the merger is accepted by shareholders, pointing out that the combined group had 360 million orders worth 7.3 billion euro (£6.6 billion) in 2018.

The new entity will remain listed on the London Stock Exchange, but will be headquartered in Amsterdam with a “significant” operation in the UK.

Jitse Groen, Takeaway.com’s chief executive, is to become the boss of the new company, with Just Eat’s interim chief Peter Duffy leaving.

Just Eat chairman Mike Evans will remain in place and Takeaway.com chairman Adriaan Nuhn becomes vice-chairman.

Mr Groen has described the UK as one of the best three markets in Europe, along with the Netherlands and Poland. His business was founded in 2000 and operates in 10 countries in Europe, alongside Israel and Vietnam.

Just Eat can be found in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Brazil.

The deal is expected to be seen as a major victory for activist investor Cat Rock, which has a 2.6 per cent stake in Just Eat and owns 4.9 per cent in Takeaway.com.

Bosses at the US-based investment house have publicly criticised Just Eat in the past for not having enough experience and questioned the board’s decisions over appointments, particularly former chief executive Peter Plumb.

They also warned that the rise and rise of Deliveroo and Uber Eats could also eat into their business without a merger.

Deals and consolidation in the food delivery sector have been a mainstay of recent years.

Just Eat bought UK rival HungryHouse in 2018 and last December Takeaway.com snapped up Delivery Hero’s German business.