As food delivery services struggle to maintain the rise in demand they witnessed at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, Amsterdam-based food delivery startup Just Eat Takeaway.com has sold its Brazilian food delivery firm iFood stake to investment firm Prosus. The deal valued at €1.8 billion will give Prosus full control of the Latin American company iFood.
Prosus has offered Just Eat €1.5 billion in cash plus a further €300 million conditional on the recovery of the food delivery sector.
Just Eat Takeaway.com CEO Jitse Groen had earlier turned down a €2.3 billion offer for iFood, snubbing the offer as inadequate. However, as people cut back on spending on takeaways amid a cost of living crisis, Just Eat has been hit by a slowdown in consumer demand. The company witnessed its shares plummet 63% since the start of the year. It is also under pressure from investor Cat Rock Capital to sell its U.S. arm GrubHub.
The sale of iFood, thus represents a major cash injection for Just Eat, which now plans to speed up its path to profitability in Europe. The Dutch company will use the proceeds to maintain its balance sheet strength and to pay back debt.
Just Eat Takeaway.com, which was created by the merger of the Dutch food delivery behemoth Takeaway.com and the UK-born Just Eat, had earlier picked up €700 million in funding in 2020.
Prosus CEO Bob van Dijk added: “Increasing our stake to full ownership is a demonstration of our committed and disciplined approach to investment and reflects our confidence in the long-term potential of iFood.”
The transaction is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of 2022, subject to shareholder approval.
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