The ongoing saga to finalize the takeover deal of Just Eat (LON: JE) continues to head lines, as Prosus (JSE: PRX) have maintained their bid on Monday morning.
Last week, it was reported that rival Takeaway.com (AMS: TKWY) was set to formalize a deal, however similar to the first approach Prosus have appeared to hamper the plans.
Prosus held their ground on the $6.3 billion bid that they submitted, as it argued the merits of its bid versus one from Takeaway.com for the British online takeaway delivery firm.
The one change in the offer published on Monday by the Dutch arm of South African internet giant Naspers (JSE: NPN) was an acceptance threshold lowered to 75% from 90%, which could swing the deal in favor of Prosus.
“We actually believe that financial markets are under- estimating the cost of implementing the transformation Just Eat requires to protect its market position and to capitalise on its long-term opportunity,” Prosus CEO Bob Van Dijk said.
Prosus has offered an unsolicited cash offer of $6.3 billion, or 710 pence per share, for Just Eat.
Even if this bid were to be accepted, regulators may seem skeptical about the deal following investigations into rival Deliveroo being taken over by Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).
Additionally, the bid that was submitted by Prosus was higher than £4.7 pound all-share deal that Just Eat’s board has agreed with Takeaway.com whose shares have fallen since it made its initial bid in July.
Just Eat on Monday said the unchanged Prosus offer “significantly undervalued” it, both as a standalone company and in combination with Takeaway, and it continued to recommend shareholders to reject it.
Prosus CEO van Dijk told journalists on a conference call that Takeaway’s modest investment in delivery capacity might be a viable strategy for now in the Netherlands and Germany, but it would not work in London and many other markets, as reported by Reuters.
Takeaway CEO Jitse Groen said his bid offered superior future growth opportunities to both groups of shareholders.
As the ongoing saga continues in the three way saga, shares of Just Eat have been volatile.
After the Prosus negotiation this morning, Just Eat shares dipped 0.3% to 735p. 11/11/19 11:55BST.
