Takeaway.com seeks to add certainty to Just Eat deal
Takeaway.com has changed the structure of its bid to buy food delivery platform Just Eat allowing it to reduce the shareholder acceptance threshold as it battles against a rival offer from Prosus.
Takeaway.com and Just Eat had previously agreed the terms of a recommended all-share combination through a court sanctioned scheme of arrangement, which required 75 per cent of both sets of shareholders to agree to the deal.
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The Dutch takeaway service has switched the bid to a conditional offer, which needs 75 per cent of Just Eat shareholders to approve the deal. If the takeover panel agrees, Takeaway.com will be able to lower the threshold to anything above 50 per cent.
Jitse Groen, chief executive of Takeaway.com, said: “We believe that the Just Eat Takeaway.com combination offers its shareholders a future value far superior to both Just Eat and Takeaway.com separately, and to the recent cash offer made by Prosus in particular. With this switch, we provide additional deal certainty to the Just Eat shareholders.”
Just Eat has recommended that shareholders accept the Takeaway.com offer, despite an unsolicited bid from Prosus last week.
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Just Eat rejected the £4.9bn cash offer in favour of the deal reached in August with Takeaway.com.
In recent weeks Just Eat shareholders have expressed concerns that the value of the deal could be diminished after Takeaway.com’s share price suffered as rival firm Delivery Hero sold off shares.
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