Simply Eat is ready to be acquired for €4.1bn (£3.4bn)—lower than a 3rd of its worth on the top of the pandemic—marking a stark reflection of the post-Covid droop in takeaway demand.
The Anglo-Dutch supply big, listed in Amsterdam and identified formally as Simply Eat Takeaway, confirmed on Monday that it had agreed to a buyout by Dutch funding group Prosus at €20.30 per share. The transfer comes simply two months after Simply Eat dropped its twin itemizing in London.
Whereas the supply represents a 49 per cent premium to the corporate’s common valuation over the previous three months, it stays a steep low cost in comparison with the €100 share worth throughout the pandemic, when lockdowns supercharged supply orders. At its peak in 2021, Simply Eat Takeaway was price £14.2bn.
The top of Covid restrictions has sparked a slowdown in takeaway spending, compounding Simply Eat’s woes after a troubled foray into the US market. In 2021, the corporate spent $7.3bn (£5.8bn) buying New York-based Grubhub, solely to promote it for a fraction of that—$650m—late final 12 months.
Prosus’s new bid marks the newest chapter in its pursuit of Simply Eat, having first tried to purchase the enterprise for £5.5bn in 2019. On the time, Simply Eat as a substitute selected to merge with Takeaway.com, led by the Dutch entrepreneur Jitse Groen, in a deal that valued the mixed group at round £9bn. Since then, shares have plunged by round 80 per cent from their pandemic highs.
Simply Eat stays beneath stress within the UK, dealing with fierce competitors from rivals Deliveroo and Uber Eats. Mr Groen mentioned Prosus “fully supports our strategic plans, and its extensive resources will help to further accelerate our investments”.
Prosus—majority-owned by the South African media conglomerate Naspers—already has a powerful presence in worldwide meals supply, holding substantial stakes in Germany’s Supply Hero, China’s Meituan, Brazil’s iFood and India’s Swiggy. Prosus chief government Fabricio Bloisi referred to as Simply Eat a “European tech champion” within the making.
Information of the takeover boosted shares in different European meals supply corporations, with Deliveroo up 7 per cent and Supply Hero climbing 8 per cent. Prosus’s personal shares, nonetheless, dipped by about 7 per cent in early Amsterdam buying and selling.
Analysts predict this transfer may set off additional consolidation within the fast-moving meals supply market. Because the preliminary pandemic-fuelled surge in orders continues to recede, companies are beneath stress to develop income streams and reduce prices to remain aggressive.
