Food delivery firm Takeaway.com will buy UK-based rival Just Eat in a £5.9bn deal after a bruising takeover battle.
Just Eat shareholders approved the all-share deal from its Dutch competitor on Friday, clearing the path to create one of the largest takeaway companies in the world.
“I am thrilled,” said Takeaway chief executive Jitse Groen who will lead the combined group.
“Just Eat [and] Takeaway.com is a dream combination and I am very much looking forward to leading the company for many years to come.”
More than 80 per cent of Just Eat’s shareholders have accepted the bid, passing the threshold of 50 per cent needed to male the offer unconditional. If the remaining shareholders do not agree before 31 January Takeaway can force the deal through without their backing.
1/50 10 January 2020
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England’s Stuart Broad celebrates with teammate Ben Stokes after the dismissal of South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen during the fifth day of the second Test cricket match in Cape Town. Stokes claimed the last three wickets in the space of 14 deliveries to wrap up a 189-run win
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8/50 3 January 2020
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40/50 2 December 2019
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42/50 30 November 2019
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43/50 29 November 2019
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Angela Christofilou/The Independent
44/50 28 November 2019
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45/50 27 November 2019
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46/50 26 November 2019
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47/50 25 November 2019
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48/50 24 November 2019
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50/50 22 November 2019
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1/50 10 January 2020
One of seven new lion cubs at the West Midlands Safari Park in Kidderminster
PA
2/50 9 January 2020
Rawson Robinson, from Nenthead, on the Cumbria and Northumberland border clears snow from the model village he has built in his garden
PA
3/50 8 January 2020
People read messages written on the David Bowie mural in Brixton, south London, on what would have been the singer’s 73rd birthday
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4/50 7 January 2020
England’s Stuart Broad celebrates with teammate Ben Stokes after the dismissal of South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen during the fifth day of the second Test cricket match in Cape Town. Stokes claimed the last three wickets in the space of 14 deliveries to wrap up a 189-run win
AFP via Getty
5/50 6 January 2020
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AP
6/50 5 January 2020
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7/50 4 January 2020
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8/50 3 January 2020
Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London after the US killed General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport. Soleimani was head of Tehran’s elite Quds Force and Iran’s top general
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9/50 2 January 2020
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10/50 1 January 2020
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11/50 31 December 2019
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12/50 30 December 2019
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13/50 29 December 2019
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14/50 28 December 2019
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Getty Images for Harlequins
15/50 27 December 2019
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16/50 26 December 2019
Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow
EPA
17/50 25 December 2019
Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London
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18/50 24 December 2019
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19/50 23 December 2019
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20/50 22 December 2019
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21/50 21 December 2019
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22/50 20 December 2019
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23/50 19 December 2019
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24/50 18 December 2019
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25/50 17 December 2019
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26/50 16 December 2019
Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK
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27/50 15 December 2019
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28/50 14 December 2019
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Getty Images
29/50 13 December 2019
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30/50 12 December 2019
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31/50 11 December 2019
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32/50 10 December 2019
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33/50 9 December 2019
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34/50 8 December 2019
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35/50 7 December 2019
Speedo Mick outside the stadium before the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park
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36/50 6 December 2019
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37/50 5 December 2019
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with the SNP campaign bus in front of the Queensferry Crossing, while on the General Election campaign trail in Scotland
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38/50 4 December 2019
The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, which is given every year by the city of Oslo as a token of Norwegian gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during the Second World War
PA
39/50 3 December 2019
Protesters against the visit of US President Trump during a demonstration near Buckingham Palace on the first day of the Nato Summit in London
EPA
40/50 2 December 2019
England captain Joe Root celebrates reaching his double century during day 4 of the second Test match against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand
Getty
41/50 1 December 2019
A hard frost is seen on the first day of the meteorological winter in Pitlochry, Scotland
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42/50 30 November 2019
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PA
43/50 29 November 2019
School children and students take part in the Youth Strike for Climate in London as part of the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike
Angela Christofilou/The Independent
44/50 28 November 2019
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PA
45/50 27 November 2019
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Andrew Fusek Peters / SWNS
46/50 26 November 2019
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plays with local children during a visit to the Jelly Tots & Cookies Play Cafe in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire
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47/50 25 November 2019
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48/50 24 November 2019
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49/50 23 November 2019
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50/50 22 November 2019
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PA
The 889p-per-share deal is expected to finalise in the first quarter of this year.
Takeaway initially bid to takeover JustEat in July, proposing to pay for the deal using its own shares. But in October Dutch internet conglomerate Prosus tried to scupper Takeaway’s approach with its own unsolicited $6.3bn cash bid. Prosus then submitted a further two bids, but Just Eat’s board backed Takeaway’s offer from the start.
Takeaway appeared to seal the deal on 19 December by making an improved offer that will see its shareholders take a smaller slice of the merged company than had previously been proposed.
Just Eat is the market leader in Britain’s rapidly expanding food delivery market but it faces increasing competition from rivals such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats.
Takeaway has likewise expanded quickly in its home markets of Germany and the Netherlands and a race is now on to become the globally dominant player.
The merged company will be headquartered in Amsterdam and listed in London, with 23 subsidiaries in countries mostly in Europe.
Profit margins remain narrow or non-existent however as delivery companies invest in expansion. Just Eat grew revenues 30 per cent in its last half-year but profits plunged to just £800,000.
Takeaway has estimated that the merged company would have had sales of €1.2bn last year with a loss of €43m.
Takeaway has said it is likely to sell off Just Eat’s 33 per cent stake in iFood, Latin America’s biggest delivery site. iFood is controlled by Prosus.
