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Just Eat Takeaway is exploring a sale of Grubhub

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A smartphone’s screen will display the Grubhub logo.

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European Food Delivery Giant Just Eat Takeaway.comAfter being pressured by investors, Grubhub said that it is considering selling its U.S. division.

Just Eat Takeaway.com board has “confirmed its alignment with shareholders, in wanting to both generate and realize value from the Company’s highly attractive portfolio assets,” it said Wednesday in a trading update.

Management, along with its advisors, are currently exploring ways to introduce a strategic partner and/or sell Grubhub.

Just Eat Takeaway.com claimed it could not guarantee that such a sale would take place, nor can it predict when. The website stated that it would make further announcements as necessary.

Prominent shareholders are calling for the company to sell its Grubhub business. Just Eat Takeaway.com completed its acquisitionA year and a half ago the U.S. food ordering site was in its infancy. UberGermany’s Delivery HeroAfter a heated takeover battle.

Cat Rock Capital, an activist investor in October, called Just Eat Takeaway.com asking them to “refocus their business on Europe” and sell Grubhub. Cat Rock holds 6.5%.

Alex Captain is the founder of Cat Rock and its managing partner. He stated that Just Eat Takeaway.com has seen its share price drop to “deeply depressed” making it “vulnerable for takeover bids far below its long-term intrinsic worth.”

Just Eat Takeaway.com stock rose 3% upon news that Grubhub was interested in buying it. In the last 12 months, more than two-thirds of its market capital has been lost.

This isn’t the first time that a food delivery company has been having trouble on the stock exchange. Delivery Hero’s stock price has declined 73%, and Deliveroo UK’s is down 56%.

After two years of periodic pandemic shut downs, consumer habits have changed. There is a growing demand for food and streaming services online.

NetflixOn Tuesday, the company reported that it had lost its first quarter subscribers. This was the first loss of paid customers since October 2011.

Just Eat Takeaway.com posted a gross transaction value of $7.2 billion ($7.8billion) for the first quarter. This is up 4 percent from last year.

But it also revised down its guidance for 2022, with GTV expected to grow by “mid-single digit year-on-year” — it was previously “mid-teens.” According to the firm, growth for the second quarter will be “remain difficult.”

Jitse Groen is Just Eat Takeaway.com CEO. He stated that the company anticipates profitability will “gradually improve throughout this year”, reaching positive adjusted EBITDA in 2023 (earnings prior to interest, tax and depreciation).

Groen declared that 2022 will be a priority because it is important to improve profitability and grow our business.

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