Amsterdam’s Just Eat Takeaway to sell 33% stake in food delivery portal iFood for €1.8B

Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway, Europe’s biggest food delivery company, announced on Friday that it will sell nearly 33 per cent of its equity stake in the iFood joint venture, an online food delivery portal, to Prosus Ventures for €1.8B.

The deal comprises €1.5B in cash at closing and up to €300M in deferred consideration, depending on how the online meal delivery market performs over the following 12 months. Over the course of the joint venture, the consideration reflects an equity multiple of more than five times the investments. 

Just Eat Takeaway.com says it is still committed to increasing its profitability and making wise financial allocations. The company will keep the proceeds of the sale in order to keep its balance sheet strong and pay off its debt obligations.

The iFood joint venture is headed by iFood Holdings and IF-JE Holdings, and claims to be a leading online food and delivery platform in Latin America. As of June 30, 2022, the carrying value of Just Eat Takeaway’s interest in the iFood joint venture was €1.744B. In 2021, Just Eat Takeaway’s portion of the joint venture’s net losses was €62M.

What’s next?

The deal is anticipated to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022, after the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting.

Additionally, Just Eat Takeaway, which acquired Grubhub in a $7.3B deal last year, is also looking to sell all or a portion of Grubhub. There is no assurance that any agreement regarding Grubhub will be achieved, nor is any assurance regarding the timing or details of any such arrangement.

The decision to sell Grubhub comes after Cat Rock, the second largest shareholder of Just Eat Takeaway, criticised the purchase of Grubhub and insisted on selling the company. The Amsterdam-based firm marked down the value of its US affiliate Grubhub by €3B earlier this month in order to sell it.

Brief about Just Eat Takeaway

Founded in 2000 by Jitse Groen, Just Eat Takeaway claims to be one of the largest online food delivery marketplaces outside China. It is focused on connecting consumers and restaurants through its platforms. The company mainly collaborates with delivery restaurants. 

It also provides its proprietary ‘restaurant delivery services’ to restaurants that do not deliver themselves. It is connected with nearly 634,000 restaurants and operates in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Switzerland, as well as through partnerships in Colombia and Brazil.