Prosus plans to expand its food delivery business and acquire Just Eat Takeaway
Prosus Investment Group has announced the acquisition of food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway. The deal is worth €4.1 billion.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time Prosus has expressed an interest in buying the service. Five years ago, the investor planned a takeover, but the deal never materialised. In the current agreement, Prosus has offered a price of €20.3 per share. This represents a 22% premium on Just Eat’s highest price in recent months. Once the deal is completed, the service will be delisted from Euronext Amsterdam.
Investment company plans
The acquisition of the Anglo-Dutch chain is of strategic importance to Prosus. The investor intends to create one of the largest food delivery groups. The company already owns part of the German service Delivery Hero.
Since the boom of the service in 2020, Just Eat Takeaway’s share price has gradually declined. The negative momentum has been observed since 2021. Since then, the management has taken various measures to strengthen the position:
– redundancies;
– work process optimisation;
– exiting the French market;
– sale of the Grubhub business in the US acquired four years ago;
– delisting from the London Stock Exchange.
The acquisition will allow Prosus to expand its food delivery business in the European market. In addition, the investment business intends to improve service performance through the introduction of AI tools.
Prosus’ total investment in the delivery sector is more than US$10 billion. The company holds the following stakes:
– Berlin-based Delivery Hero – 28% stake;
– Chinese service Meituan – 4%;
– Indian delivery service Swiggy – 25%.
Prosus also owns a majority stake in the iFood platform, which operates in Latin America.
Overall market situation
According to Business of Apps, the global delivery market will reach US$213 billion by 2030. In 2024, it was valued at US$112.5 billion. Despite the growth, the sector faces several challenges. During the pandemic, there was a global spike in demand for services. However, after the quarantine ended, the market went into a slump. As a result, some companies have had to close, and others have had to cut costs. The Turkish service Getir, for example, focused its activities exclusively on the local market. The French platform Epicery announced the end of its operations.
The number of transactions between food delivery companies has decreased. In 2024, 286 VC and PE deals were registered on the market, with a total value of US$15.7 billion. This compares to 792 deals worth US$48.5 billion in 2021.
