Prosus to buy Just Eat for €4.1 billion as takeaway boom fades
Food-delivery platform Just Eat has been gobbled up by a Dutch rival. Now there could be further consolidation in the sector


Two months after it left the London Stock Exchange, food-delivery company Just Eat has been “snapped up” by Prosus for €4.1 billion in cash, says Jasper Jolly in the Guardian. The deal represents a 22% premium to its three-month high.
However, the stock is still worth less than a fifth of its peak above €100 in 2020. The fall in Just Eat’s share price over the past five years was due to “several missteps”, notably the “disastrous” acquisition of its US rival GrubHub. A few months ago, Just Eat revealed that it was selling GrubHub for $650 million, a fraction of the purchase price of $7.3 billion.
Just Eat’s “botched US expansion” isn’t the only reason for the fact that it is now being sold for a fraction of its peak value, says Matthew Field in the Telegraph. Another factor is that the “Covid-era boom” in ordering takeaways has faded. This has left Just Eat “battling for market share in the UK’s fiercely competitive food delivery market”. Its principal rivals are Deliveroo and Uber Eats. However, the decision by Prosus to buy it has sent other food-delivery stocks climbing across Europe on speculation of further mergers in the sector.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Shares in Amsterdam-listed Prosus may have fallen by 7% after the news of the takeover, but talk of using the Just Eat expansion to create a “European tech champion” isn’t just empty spin, says Jessica Newman in the Times. Prosus already has a food business in 70 countries and holds big stakes in several European food delivery companies, making these plans credible. In addition to owning iFood, Latin America’s leading food-delivery platform, outright, Prosus also has a 28% stake in Just Eat’s German rival, Delivery Hero; a 25% share of India’s Swiggy; and 4% of Chinese shopping platform Meituan.
Prosus’s CEO said last month that he has “$20 billion worth of firepower to spend on deal”, says Aimee Donnellan on Breakingviews. This would be more than enough to buy out the remaining shares in Delivery Hero, or “lobby for a merger [of Delivery Hero] with Just Eat”. Such a strategy looks even more attractive as splicing together the pair along with iFoods could produce €470 million of annual synergies. While such a deal might “raise antitrust eyebrows”, given that Just Eat alone has a market share above 40% in 11 European countries, the EU “is looking more kindly” on local champions within the bloc.
Still, whether or not Prosus tries to consolidate the food-delivery industry further, its track record suggests it is in it “for the long term” and interested in finding ways to “grow revenue rather than just cut costs”, says Lex in the Financial Times. There is also hope that it can apply some of iFood’s “magic sauce” to Just Eat. Such “tech tweaks” could include “voice-activated ordering for customers, optimised routes for couriers and stronger profiling for merchants”. What’s more, “improving fraud detection and knowing when – and how – to dish out discounts to customers are also applicable across the portfolio”.
This article was first published in MoneyWeek's magazine. Enjoy exclusive early access to news, opinion and analysis from our team of financial experts with a MoneyWeek subscription.
Sign up for MoneyWeek's newsletters
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.
He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.
Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.
As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.
Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri
-
Tesla earnings: live preview and analysis
Can the electric car-maker overcome a big deliveries miss ahead of earnings?
By Dan McEvoy
-
Can I shield my ISAs from inheritance tax?
Many investors and savers will be wondering if there’s anything they can do to protect their ISAs from inheritance tax, especially as pensions will become liable for the levy from April 2027. We reveal the options available to ISA customers
By Ruth Emery
-
BP's 'long, painful decline' – and why next year could be even tougher
Opinion Long-suffering shareholders in oil giant BP have been pushing for change. It won’t come soon enough, says Matthew Lynn
By Matthew Lynn
-
Investment trusts tap the profits in exotic and obscure global markets
Opinion Peter Walls, manager of the Unicorn Mastertrust fund, highlights three investment trusts as he shares where he'd put his money
By Peter Walls
-
Falling revenues and mounting debt spell trouble for Jumia Technologies
Struggling African e-commerce platform Jumia Technologies looks headed for the exit, says Dr Matthew Partridge.
By Dr Matthew Partridge
-
Next reports £1 billion in annual profits for the first time – what's next for the retailer?
Clothing retailer Next has become only the fourth member of its sector to surpass £1 billion in annual profits. What does this mean for the company's future?
By Dr Matthew Partridge
-
Best of British bargains: cash in on undervalued companies in the UK stock market
Opinion Michael Field, Chief Equity Market Strategist, EMEA, Morningstar, selects three attractive UK stocks where he'd put his money
By Michael Field
-
Building firm Keller presents low debt and ample scope for growth
Geotechnical contractor Keller, which supports vital global infrastructure, boasts rising profits and a cheap valuation
By Dr Mike Tubbs
-
PZ Cussons share price down 75% in last decade – why it's one to watch
Opinion Once-strong consumer-goods business PZ Cussons is out of favour with the market. That spells opportunity for investors, says Jamie Ward
By Jamie Ward
-
Cash in on the biotech sector with specialist trust BioPharma
Opinion BioPharma has an attractive niche in lending to asset-rich biotechnology companies
By Rupert Hargreaves