The European Commission demanded that Prosus reduce or divest its stake in Delivery Hero.
Prosus NV has offered to sell down its holding in Delivery Hero SE to help pave the way for regulatory approvals for its acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway.com NV, according to people familiar with the matter.
The European Commission had pressed Amsterdam-based Prosus to significantly reduce or divest its stake in the German food delivery firm, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. It’s unclear how much of the stake Prosus will ultimately sell and no final decisions have been made, they said.
The proposed sale is an effort to ease regulators’ concerns about Prosus being Delivery Hero’s biggest shareholder, with a 27% stake. The EU has until July 28 to decide whether to escalate their antitrust probe into the combination or clear the deal with conditions.
“Following constructive conversations with the European Commission, we have submitted remedies that directly and comprehensively address the concerns expressed in their preliminary assessment, with a view to obtaining a Phase 1 approval,” a spokesperson for Prosus said.
A representative for the commission confirmed that Prosus had submitted commitments to secure approval for the deal and that the deadline for the EU executive body to make a decision is Aug. 11. A representative for Delivery Hero declined to comment.
Prosus agreed to buy Just Eat for €4.1 billion ($4.8 billion) in February, and the deal has been awaiting clearance by antitrust regulators. It’s set to be Chief Executive Officer Fabricio Bloisi’s largest deal since he took the helm last year. It could also make Prosus — which also owns Brazil’s iFood and has stakes in China’s Meituan — the world’s fourth-largest food delivery company by gross transaction value.
The food delivery industry, which operates on razor-thin margins, has struggled to recover from declines after Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns and a number of businesses have explored sales. In May, UK-based Deliveroo Plc agreed to a £2.9 billion ($3.9 billion) takeover by DoorDash. Uber offered $950 million for Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, but terminated its bid after regulatory hurdles.
In an interview with Bloomberg News in April, Bloisi said he wanted to find synergy between Prosus’ portfolio companies and create super apps that span on-demand services to create lifestyle experiences.
Source: Bloomberg
