Business

Just Eat takeover delayed due to UK competition probe

Just Eat shareholder Cat Rock criticises ‘patently absurd’ investigation by watchdog

Earlier this month, Just Eat’s shareholders agreed to the all-stock deal valued at £6.2 billion.

Fri Jan 24 2020 - 07:40

Netherlands-based meal delivery company Takeaway. com said the expected timetable for its takeover of British rival Just Eat would be delayed by a week after UK competition authorities said it would look at the deal.

Earlier this month, Just Eat’s shareholders agreed to the all-stock deal valued at £6.2 billion ($7.3 billion) over a rival bid from tech investment giant Prosus NV.

Takeaway.com said in a statement on Friday that Just Eat would be renamed Just East Takeaway.com on January 31st and trading in the company’s shares will commence under the new name with effect from February 3rd.

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed on Thursday it believed a probe into the deal may be warranted. The CMA said on Friday it was seeking comment on the deal from interested parties by February 6th.

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Just Eat shareholder Cat Rock founder Alex Captain said: “The CMA’s investigation seems to draw a false equivalence between Takeaway.com’s merger with Just Eat and Amazon’s investment in Deliveroo.

"Amazon has a large UK business with millions of customers that it could leverage to re-enter the UK online food delivery market and increase competition. Takeaway.com has no such UK presence, customer base, or brand name.

“It is patently absurd to compare Takeaway.com with Amazon when evaluating the outlook for future competition.”

Mr Captain added that the CMA had had the opportunity to review the merger for almost six months.

It came as Takeaway said more than 90 per cent of JustEat shareholders have accepted its offer, but it delayed the merger for a week due to the CMA announcement. – Agencies

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