Prosus to buy Just Eat to create a European food delivery 'champion'
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Dutch technology investor Prosus has agreed to buy Just Eat Takewaway.com for 4.1 billion euros ($4.3 billion) to create a "European tech champion" of food delivery.
Prosus, majority owned by South Africa's Naspers, is also the biggest shareholder in Glovo owner Delivery Hero with a 28% stake, it said in a statement on Monday.
The deal would mark a significant shift in the European food delivery market and have potential global implications, as it would make Prosus the fourth largest food delivery company in the world behind Meituan, DoorDash and Uber, ING analysts said in a note.
With a food business spanning more than 70 countries, Prosus also owns Latin America's top food delivery platform iFood, has a 25% stake in India's leading food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy and a 4% stake in Meituan, it said.
Shares in Prosus fell 6% in Amsterdam after the announcement, while Just Eat surged 55% to match the premium of the offer price. Naspers' shares fell 6.3% in Johannesburg.
Prosus is offering 20.30 euros per a Just Eat share. The offer for the entire share capital is unanimously supported by Just Eat's management and supervisory board.
Shares in Delivery Hero jumped 5%. A German trader said some analysts were seeing the deal as a first step towards a merger between the Dutch and German food delivery groups.
Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi said there was no plan or project on Delivery Hero right now.
"Our focus is growth and with growth we expect to create more jobs in many dimensions. More jobs in technology sector but also more jobs in restaurants and more opportunities for drivers too," he told reporters in a call, referring to Just Eat.
Bloisi added that the new technology investment, including AI, would be aimed at making Just Eat's delivery model more efficient.
"We are not looking forward to other big news in food delivery or acquisitions right now," he said.
Citi analysts estimated that Prosus has some $5 billion to invest in further M&A, though they expect the near term focus to be on execution and growth in its owned assets.
Just Eat's management will remain in place and the company will stay based in Amsterdam, its CEO Jitse Groen said in a separate media call.
Earlier on Monday, Just Eat reported 36% growth in its 2024 core profit.
($1 = 0.9513 euros)
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