European food delivery service Just Eat Takeaway has agreed to purchase Grubhub for $7.3 billion. Once finalized, this deal will provide the European company a major stake in the American food delivery industry.
“I am excited that we can create the world’s largest food delivery business outside China,” Just Eat Takeaway Executive Jitse Groen stated.
Initial reports indicate that Just Eat Takeaway purchased the American company at approximately $75 per share. That is a $16 premium to Grubhub’s closing price of $59 per share.
Prior to this deal, Uber had been in talks to purchase Grubhub. However, those deals fell through because of price and regulatory issues. To be specific, if Uber had bought Grubhub, the service would own more than 50% of the market and attract major regulatory concerns.
Moving forward, Just Eat Takeaway will look to expand its reach within Europe as well. The food delivery service giant’s lead executive, Jitse Groen, bought a portion of Germany’s Delivery Hero in 2018. Continuing at this pace, Just Eat Takeaway will be a major play along with Uber as this industry develops throughout the pandemic.
