Food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway has announced that it has raised €1.1B through an offering of convertible bonds. According to the company, it has placed €1.1B of convertible bonds, consisting of two tranches (“Tranche A” and “Tranche B”).
With an aggregate principal amount of €600M, Tranche A – upsized from €500M – is due August 2025. Whereas, Tranche B, with an aggregate principal amount of €500 M, is due February 2028.
The net proceeds from the issue of the Convertible Bonds will be used by the company for “general corporate purposes as well as to provide the Company with the financial flexibility to act on strategic opportunities which may arise.”
The takeaway from the transaction
According to the company, the convertible bonds will be issued at 101.5 per cent (Tranche A) and at 100 per cent (Tranche B) of their nominal value and redeemed at 100 per cent of their nominal value.
“The Tranche A Convertible Bonds will not bear interest and the Tranche B Convertible Bonds will be issued with an interest rate of 0.625 per cent per annum, payable semi-annually in arrear in equal instalments on 9 February and 9 August of each year, commencing on 9 August 2021, corresponding to an annual gross yield-to-maturity of (0.816) per cent to (0.331) per cent (Tranche A) and 0.125 per cent to 0.625 per cent (Tranche B. The Convertible Bonds will have a maturity of four and a half years (Tranche A) and seven years (Tranche B) and a denomination of EUR 100,000 each,” says the company.
“Settlement of the Convertible Bond issue is expected to take place on 9 February 2021. The Company will apply for the Convertible Bonds to be admitted to trading on the Open Market (Freiverkehr) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange no later than 30 days after the Issue Date,” it further adds.
Rationale
Last month, Just Eat Takeaway also announced its Q4 2020 trading updates. Talking about these updates, Jitse Groen, CEO of Just Eat Takeaway.com had said, “The fourth quarter of 2020 marks our third consecutive quarter of order growth acceleration. Our investment programme is very successful and has led to significant market share gains in most of our countries. The progress in the UK is particularly exciting; order growth of 58 per cent, and we have increased our Delivery Orders nearly five-fold in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019.”
He expects, in 2021, the company will continue to invest in price leadership, improving its service levels and expand its offering to restaurants and consumers.
According to the company, it managed to achieve three consecutive quarters of order growth acceleration due to its significant investments in the legacy Just Eat markets and the Covid-19 tailwinds.
The management expects further order growth acceleration in the first quarter of 2021. “To capitalise on the strong momentum from our investment programme, the Company will continue to invest heavily and prioritise market share over adjusted EBITDA, as also set out in the Q4 2020 Trading Update. The Company believes that a stronger balance sheet provides additional financial flexibility to act on strategic opportunities that may arise,” it mentions.
The other uses of the issuance include the payment of transaction costs for the Grubhub transaction and the potential funding requirements for the Company’s stake in iFood. “Whilst Just Eat Takeaway.com remains committed to selling its stake in iFood and returning a portion of the proceeds to shareholders, this will happen only when it is able to realise a fair value for this highly attractive and fast-growing asset. The timing of a potential sale and monetisation remains uncertain,” it states.
Amsterdam ties
Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com announced that it no longer intends to delist its shares from Euronext Amsterdam “as soon as possible and it will remain listed at both the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam until otherwise decided.”
The food delivery giant has rapidly grown to become a leading online food delivery marketplace with operations in the United Kingdom, 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.