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Prosus's broadsides against Takeaway come after a two-week
period in which Takeaway's share price has rallied to a point
where its all-share offer for Just Eat is nearly level in value
to that of Prosus's 4.9 billion pound ($6.3 billion) cash bid.
Prosus said in a statement that Takeaway's offer "takes a narrow
view of the food delivery sector based principally on its
experience in the Netherlands and Germany - markets that have so
far been relatively insulated" from competition of the likes of
Uber Eats and Deliveroo.
Takeaway argues its bid, which has the backing of Just Eat's
board, will create a global powerhouse in food ordering, and
save the combined group 20 million euros in costs over time.
Earlier on Wednesday, Takeaway launched its formal offer for
Just Eat, asking shareholders to tender their shares by Dec. 11,
the date on which both offers for Just Eat are currently
scheduled to end.
Just Eat's board has recommended shareholders accept the
Takeaway offer, and that they reject the Prosus bid, which Just
Eat said "significantly undervalues" the company.
Takeaway's offer, which would see its founder Jitse Groen become
CEO of the combined group, valued Just Eat at 698 pence or 4.76
billion pounds ($6.14 billion) as of the close of trade on
Tuesday, according to Reuters calculations.
Just Eat shares traded at 752.4 pence at 1120GMT on Wednesday,
signaling that shareholders believe a higher bid is likely.
"Takeaway.com's claim that it can achieve a meaningful
own-delivery rollout with no impact on the bottom line and
through only tens of millions of investment is, in Prosus's
view, unrealistic and demonstrates their lack of experience with
the own-delivery business model," Prosus's statement said.
Takeaway did not immediately have a response to Prosus's
criticisms. In a Nov. 12 statement, Takeaway said it expected to
incur costs "in the tens of millions", to reposition the
combined group for long term growth, including rolling out its "Scoober"-branded
delivery service in Britain.
Groen's strategy in the Netherlands and Germany has centered on
becoming the dominant platform for food ordering, with food
delivery seen as a supplementary business with worse economics.
On Nov. 11, CEO Groen said that Takeaway and Just Eat's combined
strength would stand "in stark contrast with most other food
delivery websites, which are loss-making and in our opinion,
will likely never become profitable."
Takeaway shares have rallied 17% since Nov. 5, the day after it
announced it would change the format of its original Aug. 5
offer, paving the way for an acceptance threshold of 75% or
possibly lower.
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by Jason Neely and
Alexandra Hudson)
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