Just Eat takeover war after ‘cheeky’ offer is rebuffed

A £4.9bn ownership battle has broken out for the food delivery company Just Eat.

Prosus, the investment group, launched an all-cash offer in a bid to block Just Eat’s merger with its Dutch rival Takeaway.com.

Its offer for the FTSE 100-listed company sent its shares up by almost a quarter.

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However, Just Eat rejected the offer after its 11th-largest shareholder said it would oppose the takeover, claiming it significantly undervalues the company.

Cat Rock Capital Management, which owns 3% of the food delivery firm, says 710p per share is too low and told Prosus to offer at least £6.4bn. The shareholder “certainly isn’t shy about its ambitions”, said The Guardian.

Prosus chief executive Bob van Dijk was not surprised by the rejection. He had complained earlier that he had not been allowed to negotiate with Just Eat. “We presented this idea to the Board of Just Eat, in good faith, but we have been unable to engage constructively in what we see as a compelling proposition for Just Eat shareholders,” he said.

However, Just Eat insisted its board had “engaged fully with Prosus”.

It said it had given “access to Just Eat management and due diligence information in accordance with its obligations under the Code and with the intention of providing Prosus with sufficient information to put forward an attractive and compelling valuation of Just Eat”.

The analyst Neil Wilson of Markets.com said Prosus had been trying to leverage the fall in value of Takeaway.com’s all-share offer since it was announced in July.

“The Prosus offer is in many ways very cheeky… and whilst it has been rejected, will certainly up the ante and could force Takeaway.com into raising its offer as it looks in a weakened position due to the stock’s decline,” he said.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at spreadbetter IG, also predicted further salvos in the bidding battle.

He told City AM: “The response from the share price suggests that a bidding war is now in play, potentially sending the share price back towards the 900p high we saw in early 2018.”

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