Just Eat £9bn merger plan sends shares soaring 30%

The prospect of a multibillion-pound bidding war for Just Eat sent shares in the FTSE 100 online food delivery company surging by 30%.

Just Eat agreed terms with its Dutch rival Takeaway.com in a deal that would create one of the world’s biggest online food delivery companies.

When announced, the £9bn all-share deal valued Just Eat shares at 731p but a subsequent 4.5% rise in the Dutch company’s price to €87.30 (£79.20) on the Amsterdam stock exchange lifted the value to 764p a share.

Speculation of a rival bidder pushed Just Eat shares comfortably above the offer terms, however, sending them surging to 828p.

Under the terms of the agreement, Just Eat shareholders would receive 0.09744 Takeaway.com shares for each Just Eat share and would own 52.2% of the combined group. It would be headquartered in Amsterdam and listed on the London Stock Exchange, with a “significant part of its operations” in the UK.

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