Just Eat has been subjected to a counter bid for the business. The fast-food delivery company has been recently looking to take over one of its competitors, but on Tuesday 22nd October, they received a bid that valued it at 710 pence per share. The company that made the bid was Prosus.
A global internet group, Prosus, is one of the biggest technology investors worldwide. It already has shares in iFood, Delivery Hero and Swiggy. Adding Just Eat to their list of takeaway delivery providers, would be a big bonus for Prosus.
As a result of the new takeover bid, the price of the shares in the leading food delivery company in the UK rose to 715 pence per share, a rise of more than 21%.
Not All Rosy News
When Just Eat agreed to buy Takeaway.com, the deal was to create one of the world’s largest online food delivery companies. Their value combined in July was £9 billion. Just Eat shares were at 731 pence per share.
Since then, however, there have been some challenges for the company. The company itself was at the centre of a BBC investigation and has been criticised for some practices, including anti-social behaviour around some of its cooking and delivery hubs.
Just Eat was also criticised for not delivering results when under the control of Peter Plumb. His temporary successor, Peter Duffy, had clearly stated that he didn’t want the job.
At the same time, the deal between Just Eat and Takeaway.com has already been watched carefully.
Many felt that it was Takeaway.com that were the true winners. External analysts have stated that an outside bid was probably going to come. However, many didn’t predict that it would be Prosus that would eventually make the offer.
Worldwide Operations
If the bid is successful, then Prosus would have stakes in food delivery companies across the world and have the largest stake in the industry as a whole. This could lead to improved efficiency for the organisation, better processes and cost savings across the board.
It could also help Just Eat to expand into new areas and improve profitability. Something that the organisation has failed to do over the recent years with previous bosses.