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Prosus N.V., the listed internet group chaired by South African billionaire Koos Bekker, has cleared its €4.1 billion ($4.73 billion) all-cash offer for Just Eat Takeaway.com N.V. (JET), declaring the offer unconditional after securing more than 90 percent of the company’s shares. Settlement is set for Oct. 6, with a post-closing acceptance window running until mid-October.
The offer, announced in February and unanimously recommended by JET’s management and supervisory board, marks Prosus’s biggest deal in Europe in recent years and highlights its push to strengthen food delivery as part of its broader consumer technology portfolio. More than 182 million shares—90.13 percent of issued capital—were tendered, clearing the way for full control.
A new chapter for Just Eat Takeaway
Just Eat Takeaway, created in 2020 through the merger of London’s Just Eat and Amsterdam’s Takeaway.com, has struggled with heavy expansion costs and its troubled U.S. acquisition, Grubhub. Now Prosus, 55 percent owned by Naspers, is taking over as a long-term owner, promising to steady the business and back a return to growth.
Prosus chief executive Fabricio Bloisi said the deal gives JET space to reset: “I’m very pleased with the outcome of the tender offer, and excited to welcome JET to the Prosus ecosystem. Our goal is to move quickly with a focus on product, customer and innovation, creating a strong European tech player.”
JET founder and CEO Jitse Groen called the deal a chance to accelerate growth, noting that the company cut annual losses by €200 million ($230.8 million) in fiscal 2024 and could move faster with the support of a stronger parent.
Regulatory review and shareholder dissent
The transaction faced review in Brussels due to Prosus’s holdings in competing food-delivery firms. The European Commission cleared the deal in August after Prosus agreed to scale back its exposure to Delivery Hero, removing the main hurdle amid investors' skepticism.
Several minority shareholders argued the €20.30 per-share price undervalued JET, citing prospects for recovery if the company were left to turn around on its own. With a delisting from Euronext Amsterdam now likely, holdouts risk being left with less liquid shares if they decline the offer.
Expanding a global delivery portfolio
Prosus, founded in 1997 and spun off from South Africa’s Naspers in 2019, has grown under Koos Bekker into one of the world’s leading tech investors, with holdings in fintech, e-commerce, online education, and digital media.
Prosus already owns stakes in iFood in Latin America and Delivery Hero in Europe and Asia, complementing its wider digital portfolio. Bekker, who holds just under 1 percent of Prosus, valued at €968.73 million ($1.14 billion), has played a key role in shaping its expansion strategy. The Just Eat Takeaway acquisition fits Prosus’s approach of backing platforms with room to scale internationally.
