PE firm Prosus to buy Just Eat in €4.1bn deal

(Sharecast News) - Just Eat Takeaway.com has agreed to be bought by Dutch private equity firm Prosus in a €4.1bn deal. The companies said in a joint statement on Monday that the offer of €20.30 per share in cash represents a premium of 63% to the closing Just Eat share price on Friday.

Fabricio Bloisi, chief executive of Prosus and Naspers group, said: "We are very excited for Just Eat Takeaway.com to join the Prosus group and the opportunity to create a European tech champion. Prosus already has an extensive food delivery portfolio outside of Europe and a proven track record of profitable growth through investment in our customer and driver experiences, restaurant partnerships, and world-class logistics, powered by innovation and AI.

"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 already has a 28% stake in Delivery Hero, a 4% stake in Chinese shopping platform Meituan and a 25% stake in Swiggy, India's largest food and grocery delivery platform.

Jitse Groen, CEO and founder of Just Eat Takeaway.com, said: "Just Eat Takeaway.com is now a faster growing, more profitable and predominantly European-based business. 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.

"We are looking forward to an exciting future together."

Just Eat, which is listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, delisted from the London Stock Exchange in December, citing high costs and regulatory burdens.