EU approves Just Eat sale to Dutch firm Prosus
Prosus Secures EU Approval to Acquire Just Eat Takeaway.com
The European Commission granted provisional approval on Monday to Dutch investment group Prosus’s proposal to purchase the Amsterdam‑based food‑delivery platform Just Eat Takeaway.com for 4.1 billion euros ($4.8 billion).
Strategic Rationale and Scale
- Prosus announced its intention to buy the platform in February, stating the deal would create the fourth‑largest food‑delivery group worldwide.
- The commission green‑lit the transaction after Prosus committed to remedies that mitigated the bloc’s antitrust concerns.
Prosus Portfolio and Market Presence
- Prosus holds interests in food businesses in more than 70 countries, including full ownership of Latin America’s leading platform iFood.
- It also maintains stakes in Delivery Hero and China’s Meituan.
- Just Eat Takeaway.com operates in 17 international markets and enjoys strong popularity across Europe.
Remedy Details and Competitive Safeguards
- Prosus’ majority owner, South African tech conglomerate Naspers Limited, agreed to divest a significant portion of its stake in Delivery Hero.
- The commission required Naspers to reduce its share below a specified very low threshold within 12 months and to adopt additional commitments.
- Prosus currently holds a minority share of 27.4 percent in Delivery Hero.
Industry Overlap and EU Concerns
- Just Eat and Delivery Hero both offer online food‑delivery services in EU member states such as Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, and Spain.
- EU competition chief Teresa Ribera expressed concerns that the acquisition could enable the parties to coordinate behaviour in the food‑delivery market, potentially reducing competition and consumer choice.
- Ribera emphasized that today’s binding commitments preserve competition and consumer freedom when ordering food at home.
