Africa’s most valuable company, Naspers could lose out on its attempted hostile takeover of a U.K.-listed rival in the food delivery market.
British food delivery firm Just Eat is partnered with more than 100,000 restaurants in 13 markets, according to CNN. Since 2016, Naspers has invested $2.8 billion in global online food delivery firms that operate in 41 countries along with 400,000 restaurant partners.
In October, Naspers launched a takeover bid for Just Eat, negotiated through Naspers’ Amsterdam-listed spin-off, Prosus — Europe’s biggest consumer tech company.
Naspers’ offer initially disrupted Just Eat’s plans for a merger with Dutch rival Takeaway.com, but recent developments have been in favor of the Naspers’ Dutch rival.
Just Eat has reportedly chosen a revised offer by Takeaway.com rather than a final all-cash bid by Naspers spin-off Prosus, Techcentral reports.
On Dec. 20, Just Eat’s board recommended Takeaway’s final offer, saying that it would deliver greater value to Just Eat shareholders versus Naspers’ final revised bid.
The online food delivery market is predicted to be worth $331 billion globally by 2022 and Naspers has made it clear that it wants to become “the world’s leading food delivery business“.
The final offer from Naspers was for $10.41 per share, valuing Just Eat at around $7.15 billion, according to Fin24.
Just Eat shareholders are expected to make a decision on the merger at a vote on Jan. 10, 2020, but appear set to accept the $11.92 per share offered by Takeaway.com.
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Naspers argues that Just Eat requires more investment than its management has planned to maintain its growth and defend its market positions in the face of intense competition, according to a press release.
Just Eat’s competitors include U.S. firm UberEats, London-based Deliveroo, Chicago-based Grubhub, Takeaway.com and brands owned by Naspers in the global food delivery space.
Naspers has interests globally in the food-delivery sector, including Mr. Delivery in South Africa, Swiggy in India, Germany’s Delivery Hero and iFood in Brazil.
