Just Eat to acquire Grubhub in blow to Uber

In a blow to rival Uber Eats, the Anglo-Dutch meal delivery business Just Eat Takeaway.com has agreed to acquire American Grubhub for $7.3 billion, creating the largest food delivery service outside of China and connecting partner restaurants with customers in 25 countries.

The new company will be based in Amsterdam and will focus on the four most profitable markets: the United States, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021, after which Grubhub’s shareholders will own 30% of the combined group.

The acquisition follows the boom in the sector fuelled by the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. In April and May, orders by Just Eat Takeaway’s customers grew by 41% compared to the same period last year, while those of Grubhub customers increased by 23% (the two companies processed 593 million orders in 2019, and have more than 70 million active customers).

According to figures published by Dutch investment company Robeco, global revenues from online food orders and home delivery services are in the region of $270 billion and are expected to grow by a further 20% annually between 2019 and 2022.

Less than six months ago, Takeaway.com won a €7.2 billion battle against rival Prosus for the acquisition of Just Eat.