Just Eat courier
(Picture: Just Eat)Just Eat Takeaway has sold its stake in Brazilian food delivery firm iFood in a €1.8 billion (£1.5 billion) deal.
The deal sees Dutch investment firm Prosus take full ownership of iFood. Prosus have offered Just Eat €1.5 billion in cash plus a further €300 million conditional on the recovery of the food delivery sector.
Prosus boss Bob van Dijk said: “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 deal highlights the drop-off in the value of food delivery services, which have struggled to maintain the surge in demand they saw at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. As recently as August last year, CEO Jitse Groen said he had turned down a €2.3 billion offer for iFood, snubbing the offer as “inadequate”.
Just Eat, which has seen it shares tank 63% since the start of the year, is also under pressure from activist investor Cat Rock Capital to sell its US arm GrubHub. In April, Just Eat said it was exploring a “partial or full sale” of the business.
CEO Jitse Groen said he wouldn’t rule out selling the business at a loss relative to the value of its purchase, which was completed in June last year in a £5.6 billion deal.
The sale of iFood represents a major cash injection for Just Eat, which has vowed to accelerate its path to profitability. The firm reported a loss of €3.5 billion (£3 billion) in the first six months of 2022, led by a significant write-down in the value of Grubhub, as worldwide order numbers dropped 7% year-on-year.
Investors reacted positively to the deal, with Just Eat Takeaway stock rising almost 30% to 1819p in the opening minutes of trading.
