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| Just Eat in merger talks with Dutch company Takeaway.com | Just Eat in merger talks with Dutch company Takeaway.com |
| (about 16 hours later) | |
| Food delivery service Just Eat has confirmed it is in talks to be taken over by Dutch company Takeaway.com. | Food delivery service Just Eat has confirmed it is in talks to be taken over by Dutch company Takeaway.com. |
| A statement released by Just Eat said: "The possible combination may be implemented by way of an offer for Just Eat by Takeaway.com." | A statement released by Just Eat said: "The possible combination may be implemented by way of an offer for Just Eat by Takeaway.com." |
| Based on current market value, Just Eat and Takeaway.com would have combined worth of roughly £9bn ($11bn). | Based on current market value, Just Eat and Takeaway.com would have combined worth of roughly £9bn ($11bn). |
| Earlier in the year, Just Eat was put under pressure by a shareholder to merge with a rival. | Earlier in the year, Just Eat was put under pressure by a shareholder to merge with a rival. |
| Activist shareholder Cat Rock, which owns 1.7% of the firm, has been pressing for a merger with Takeaway.com, in which it also has a stake. | |
| Bid deadline | |
| Just Eat said in its statement on Saturday there was "no certainty" that any transaction would take place. | Just Eat said in its statement on Saturday there was "no certainty" that any transaction would take place. |
| It added: "A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate." | It added: "A further announcement will be made if and when appropriate." |
| Takeaway.com has until 1700 BST on 24 August to announce a firm intention to press on with the deal. | |
| In March, Just Eat said a fifth of the adult population in the UK used its services, while its delivery business in Canada - Skip The Dishes - was growing rapidly after the introduction of a bilingual service. | |
| Peter Duffy, the interim chief executive, said four million new customers joined the business last year. | Peter Duffy, the interim chief executive, said four million new customers joined the business last year. |
| Despite this, US fund manager Cat Rock said it "believed that a merger with a well-run industry peer is a very attractive avenue for securing world-class leadership, delivery expertise, and a premium". | |
| Profits growth | |
| Just Eat was founded by a group of five Danish entrepreneurs in 2000 and launched a year later. It employs 3,600 staff globally, | |
| As well as the Just Eat brand in Europe, it trades as Skip The Dishes in Canada, iFood in Mexico and Brazil, and Menulog in Australia and New Zealand. | |
| It is listed on the FTSE 100 stock exchange in London, where its shares closed up 2% on Friday, at 635 pence. | |
| The firm saw its group revenue grow by 43% in 2018 to £779.5m. Underlying earnings were up 6% to £173.9m in the year to 31 December. | |
| Meanwhile pre-tax profits were £101.7m, compared with a £76m loss in 2017. | |
| Delivery wars | |
| Just Eat is considered by analysts to have a market leading position in the UK food courier business, particularly given its strength in smaller towns. | |
| But it is involved in a home delivery battle with rivals Deliveroo and Uber Eats, with each continuing to grab market space from one another. | |
| In May Amazon announced a £575m investment in rival Deliveroo, hitting Just Eat's share price. | |
| Just Eat's half yearly financial results are due on Wednesday, 31 July. | |
| Its quarterly results, announced in April, saw a slowdown in UK growth, with orders rising by 7.4% to 31.9 million. But sales across the Just Eat group as a whole were up 21%, helped by good growth in Canada, Italy, Switzerland and Ireland. | |
| Group revenues for the first quarter jumped 28% from a year earlier to £227.9m. |