European food delivery heavyweight Just Eat Takeaway.com is set to be bought by Dutch tech investor Prosus in an all-cash deal for 100% of its shares, worth around €4.1 billion (US$4.3 billion).

The deal values Just Eat’s shares at €20.30 (US$21.30) each and represents a premium of 63% to the company’s closing share price last Friday.

The offer for the food giant, which launched in 2000 and has gone on to become a leading global on-demand food delivery service, was “unanimously recommended” by Just Eat’s management board.  

“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,” says Jitse Groen, CEO and founder of Just Eat Takeaway.com.

COVID-19 impact

Just Eat has had a difficult few years, with its stock price taking a hit in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Delivery companies initially experienced a spike as people used home delivery services during lockdown. However, since then, people’s eating habits have changed, with a sharp decline in growth for companies in the sector. Last year, the German grocery home delivery business Gorillas closed after a slowdown in sales. It was bought by Turkish food company Getir in 2022.

In November, Just Eat announced it would delist from the London Stock Exchange to cut costs and only list on the Amsterdam stock market. The decision came weeks after it announced plans to sell its US arm, Grubhub, at a loss just four years after it bought the food delivery platform. 

“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,” says Fabricio Bloisi, CEO of Prosus and Naspers group.

“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 has investments in more than 100 companies worldwide and says it wants to build “local e-commerce champions” in growth markets.  

The offer is expected to commence in Q2 2025, and the settlement is expected to occur by the end of the year.