Just Eat rejects increased Prosus takeover bid
Food delivery platform Just Eat has rejected an increased takeover bid from Prosus, saying the offer still “significantly undervalues” the company.
In a statement this morning Just Eat said the revised terms of 740p per share, up from 710p per share and which values the delivery platform at £5.1bn, “fails to reflect appropriately the quality” of the delivery company.
Read more: Takeaway hits back at Prosus’s bid for Just Eat
Just Eat has urged investors to back an all-share offer by Takeaway.com, which values the company at £4.3bn, saying the new rival bid only represents a premium of 16 per cent on its pre-offer share price.
It added that the Prosus bid is a discount of five per cent on its closing price on 6 December, the last business day before the revised offer, and is a premium of four per cent on its original offer.
Just Eat said: “The board unanimously recommends that shareholders reject the Prosus offer of 740p per share and continues to believe that the Takeaway.com combination is based on a compelling strategic rationale that allows shareholders to participate in the upside potential of the enlarged group and, based on its own analysis, will deliver greater value creation to Just Eat shareholders than the Prosus offer of 740 pence per share in cash.”
Prosus, which is owned by South African conglomerate Naspers, has urged investors to accept its offer, insisting that it will “deliver certainty in the face of undeniable industry change”.
Read more: Prosus hikes Just Eat bid as it ramps up pressure on rival
The rival company has argued that Takeaway.com has underestimated the challenges in the UK market, and the investment required.
Main image credit: Getty