Dutch bid for Just Eat heats up delivery food fight

London: Just Eat Plc said it’s in talks to be acquired by Dutch delivery company Takeaway.com NV.

The UK firm confirmed a Sky News report on the discussions and added that there’s no certainty whether an offer will be made and on what terms, according to an emailed statement. Takeaway.com could make an offer for Just Eat and will have no later than 5pm on August 24 to announce its intention to bid or not to bid.

Amsterdam-based Takeaway.com has a market capitalisation of €5.1 billion (Dh23.1 billion or $5.7 billion), compared with Just Eat’s £4.3 billion ($5.3 billion) valuation.

The European food delivery marketplace faces growing competition amid escalating talk of consolidation in the sector following Amazon.com Inc.’s $575 million investment in Deliveroo. Just Eat’s shares are down 15 per cent over the past three months after reporting softer growth in the UK market. Economic growth concerns spreading across the region also aren’t helping consumer-sensitive companies.

Investors in European equities have learned to be cautious of Amazon’s incursions. A report last August that the tech giant was in talks with insurance companies battered shares in GoCompare.com Group Plc and Moneysupermarket.com Group Plc. And when the US company announced its acquisition of Whole Foods Market Inc. in June 2017, grocery stocks across Europe plunged.