Food delivery giants GrubHub, Just Eat Takeaway.com to merge after Uber talks collapse
The $7.3 billion deal creates one of the world's largest food delivery marketplaces.
GrubHub will merge with Europe’s Just Eat Takeaway.com to create one of the world’s largest online food delivery marketplaces, the companies announced on Wednesday.
The all-stock merger deal values GrubHub shares at $75.15 a piece, for a total equity value of $7.3 billion. Just Eat Takeaway.com already owns the leading Canadian brand SkipTheDishes, creating a food delivery powerhouse in the North American marketplace.
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“We share a focus on a hybrid model that places extra value on volume at independent restaurants, driving profitable growth,” GrubHub CEO Matt Maloney said in a statement. “Supported by Just Eat Takeaway.com, we intend to accelerate our mission to be the fastest, best and most rewarding way to order food from your favourite local restaurants in North America and around the world.”
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRUB | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
GrubHub shares rose more than 6 percent in after-hours trading on news of the deal. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.
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The merger was announced after talks between GrubHub and Uber on a similar deal fell apart amid concerns about potential regulatory action. In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission last month, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and other Democratic senators warned that the combination would create “serious competition issues” in the U.S. market.
Uber shares are down 5 percent on the news.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBER | UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC. | 74.11 | +0.85 | +1.17% |
Maloney will join Just Eat Takeaway.com’s management board once the deal is finalized. He will also lead the company’s operations in North America. GrubHub will retain its headquarters in Chicago.
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“Matt and I are the two remaining food delivery veterans in the sector, having started our respective businesses at the turn of the century, albeit on two different continents,” Just Eat Takeaway.com CEO and founder Jitse Groen said in a statement. “Both of us have a firm belief that only businesses with high-quality and profitable growth will sustain in our sector.”
The companies said they will form “one of the few profitable players at scale” in the global food delivery industry. The combined entity had 71 million active customers worldwide as of fiscal 2019.
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