Takeaway.com boss hits back at Prosus criticism as Just Eat bidding war continues

Food delivery platform Takeaway.com has responded to claims that its offer to merge with Just Eat would be “highly value destructive”.

In a statement this morning, Takeaway.com’s CEO Jitse Green reacted to claims by tech group and rival bidder Prosus, which has offered £5.1bn for the Just Eat business in an attempt to break up the merger between the UK firm and Takeaway.com.

Prosus, an offshoot of South African technology group Naspers, has raised its terms to 740p a share, further above Takeaway.com’s £4.8bn offer, and has claimed that its rival’s all share offer would be “highly value destructive” to Just Eat.

The Amsterdam-based firm’s boss stated that Prosus has ‘no operational experience in food delivery’ and had made false claims about the premium offered for Just Eat, as well as “concocted a far-fetched valuation” of the firm.

Stressing that the claims were an attempt to weaken the proposed merger and secure a lower price, Jitse commented: “I am the founder of Takeaway.com and I still own 25 per cent of the shares.

“If Prosus’ recent claims were true, the value of my shareholding in Takeaway.com would effectively halve after the Just Eat Takeaway.com combination. Why would I do that?

He added: “Shareholders should see Prosus’ claims for what they are: a targeted attempt to buy Just Eat on the cheap.”