Just Eat Takeaway.com In Advanced Talks With GrubHub

Grubhub is nearing a deal to combine with Just Eat Takeaway.com, as the food-delivery company prepares to turn its back on weeks of negotiations with Uber Technologies, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Grubhub and Just Eat, a Netherlands-based food-delivery company, are working on an all-stock deal that could be finalized as early as Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter.

Uber and Grubhub have been negotiating a deal to combine but the talks have been bogged down over various issues including who would shoulder the bulk of the antitrust risk, some of the people said. Uber’s board is planning to meet Wednesday and may officially pull the plug on Grubhub talks then, the people said.

Just Eat confirmed in a statement Wednesday that it is in advanced discussions with Grubhub about an all-stock combination, confirming an earlier report by The Wall Street Journal.

In addition to its food-delivery business, Uber Eats, Uber has a big ride-hailing operation that has been hobbled by stay-at-home orders occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic. The food-delivery industry, by contrast, has experienced a surge in demand.

Just Eat Takeaway was created earlier this year through the $11.1 billion merger of the UK’s Just Eat and Netherlands-based Takeaway.com. It brought together one of the biggest food-delivery companies in the UK, with Takeaway.com, which had a big presence in continental Europe, to create a European giant in the cutthroat industry.