Just Eat Takeaway to merge with Grubhub in US$ 7.3bn deal

Putting an end to merger talks with Uber, US-based food delivery business Grubhub has finally agreed to be acquired by European company Just Eat Takeaway for an enterprise value of US$ 7.3 billion.
Uber reportedly walked away from the merger talks with Grubhub fearing regulatory heat.
Just Eat Takeaway on Wednesday said the completion of the transaction with Grubhub is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2021.
On completion, Matt Maloney, CEO and Founder of Grubhub, will join the Just Eat Takeaway.com management board and will lead the combined group’s businesses across North America.
The combined group will be headquartered and domiciled in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with its North American headquarters in Chicago and a significant presence in the UK.
“Matt and I are the two remaining food delivery veterans in the sector, having started our respective businesses at the turn of the century, albeit on two different continents. Both of us have a firm belief that only businesses with high-quality and profitable growth will sustain in our sector,” Jitse Groen, CEO and founder of Just Eat Takeaway.com, said in a statement.
“I am excited that we can create the world’s largest food delivery business outside China.”
Just Eat Takeaway.com has leading positions in three of the world’s four largest profit pools for food delivery: the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands.
“Combining the companies that started it all will mean that two trailblazing start-ups have become a clear global leader. We share a focus on a hybrid model that places extra value on volume at independent restaurants, driving profitable growth,” said the Grubhub CEO.
“Supported by Just Eat Takeaway.com, we intend to accelerate our mission to be the fastest, best and most rewarding way to order food from your favourite local restaurants in North America and around the world. We could not be more excited.”
Grubhub is a leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery marketplace in the US, with nearly 300,000 restaurants across 4,000 US cities.
The Grubhub portfolio of brands includes Grubhub, Seamless, LevelUp, AllMenus and MenuPages.
For the 2019 financial year, Grubhub had 23 million active customers, recorded 180 million orders and revenues of US$ 1.3 billion.
For the same period, Just Eat Takeaway.com had 48 million active customers.