Naspers-owned Prosus has extended the acceptance period of its offer for Just Eat Takeaway to October 1 to align with a revised competition clearance timeline set by the European Commission.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, Prosus and Just Eat Takeaway (JET) said the acceptance period had been extended to accommodate the ongoing regulatory review by the European Commission under the EU Merger Regulation.
The European Commission is expected to issue its decision in relation to the transaction on August 11.
The closing date will therefore be extended to October 1 to allow JET shareholders sufficient time to tender their shares into the offer.
Competition clearance from the European Commission is the only outstanding regulatory clearance required for the transaction to proceed.
“Prosus and JET continue to work closely and constructively with the European Commission to satisfy this,” they said.
In February, Prosus announced it had reached an agreement to acquire JET, one of Europe’s largest food delivery businesses for €4.1bn (about R79bn at the time), in what is its largest investment yet.
Prosus, which is listed on the Euronext and JSE, said the transaction had a compelling rationale, offering Just Eat Takeaway.com shareholders an attractive cash premium while providing Prosus a unique opportunity to create an AI-first European tech champion.
“With Prosus’ investment, technology and extensive expertise, Just Eat Takeaway.com will be well positioned to strengthen its brands and operations, enhance its AI capabilities, and drive future growth well beyond its stand-alone potential,” Prosus said in a statement at the time of announcing the acquisition.
In 2020, Naspers and the Amsterdam-listed unit failed to secure a high-profile bid for Just Eat, losing out to Takeaway.com, which paid $8bn.
At the time, Prosus’ £5bn bid, about R98bn then, was seen as a sign of an ambitious strategy to build a bigger food delivery business to take on Silicon Valley giant Uber Eats and Amazon-backed Deliveroo.
While Prosus is now under new management, led by CEO Fabricio Bloisi, its ambition to build a European food delivery powerhouse has remained. This time, though, it acquires a bigger entity: the combined Just Eat and Takeaway.com, at a lower price, all with the benefit of lessons learnt since the first attempt.
Operating in 17 international markets, Just Eat Takeaway.com connects about 61-million customers with more than 356,000 local partners.
The acquisition will be funded through Prosus’ existing cash resources.
With Nompilo Goba
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