Takeaway hits back at Prosus’s ‘derisory’ bid for Just Eat
Takeaway.com has fired back at rival Just Eat bidder Prosus, saying its increased takeover offer “remained derisory”.
Prosus this morning announced that it has hiked its offer from 710p per share to 740p per share, valuing Just Eat at roughly £5.1bn.
Read more: Prosus hikes Just Eat bid as it ramps up pressure on rival Takeaway.com
However, Takeaway chief executive Jitse Groen said: “A slightly higher derisory cash bid remains a derisory cash bid.”
The Dutch delivery firm said Prosus’s bid represented a premium of only 16 per cent on Just Eat’s closing price on 26 July.
“The revised offer would deprive Just Eat shareholders of any future value creation opportunity,” it added.
Takeaway instead urged shareholders to accept its offer, saying it had posted a letter to investors outlining why its proposal was “far superior”.
The comments mark the latest salvo in an ongoing battle between the two companies as they seek to win over shareholders. Just Eat’s board has previously recommended the Takeaway offer.
Activist investor Cat Rock this morning weighed in on the revised bid, describing it as “wholly inadequate”, adding that the company was unable to “muster a credible bid”.
“Prosus is struggling to pay a fair price for Just Eat because it lacks a credible plan for winning in the UK,” said Cat Rock founder and managing partner Alex Captain.
Read more: Takeaway.com slams Prosus ‘scaremongering’ in battle to buy Just Eat
As part of its revised offer, Prosus has reduced the required acceptance rate from 75 per cent to a simple majority – meaning 50 per cent plus one Just Eat share.
The new bid means the deadline for first acceptance on the two offers has been pushed back to 27 December.