Just Eat agrees to merge with Takeaway.com in £8.2bn deal

The two companies previously snapped up smaller competitors.

Just Eat has announced plans for a £8.2bn merger with Amsterdam-based Takeaway.com to create one of the largest food delivery firms in the world.

The two companies said they have reached an agreement in principle and are at “advanced stages” of merger talks. The proposed transaction would create a company boasting a combined 360 million orders last year.

The combined company, which faces tough competition from rivals Uber Eats and Amazon-backed Deliveroo, will be listed on the London Stock Exchange and maintain a “significant” operation in the UK but be headquartered in Amsterdam.

Activist investor Cat Rock, which has holdings in both companies and has been pushing Just Eat to merge with a rival, called the agreement “excellent news”.

“The proposed transaction is excellent news for Just Eat shareholders,” Cat Rock founder and managing partner Alex Captain, said in a statement. “We support the Board’s work in evaluating and consummating a transaction that maximizes long-term shareholder value over the coming weeks.”

Takeaway.com has until 24 August to announce a firm intention to make an offer or to announce that it will not make an offer, the deal of which will then have to be approved by the companies’ boards and shareholders.

Just Eat bought its UK competitor HungryHouse in 2018 whilst Takeaway.com snapped up Delivery Hero's German business last December.

Prior to the announcement, Just Eat said it layed off  “a number” of jobs in Britain as it combined its customer and restaurant operations. Andrew Griffith, its senior non-executive director, also stepped down recently following his appointment as chief business advisor to new Prime Minister Boris Johnson.