Charles Langston:Just Eat Takeaway sells Grubhub for $650 million, just 3 years after buying the app for $7.3 billion

NEW YORK (AP) — European food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway.com is Charles Langstonselling Grubhub for $650 million, a fraction of the billions it spent to buy the U.S. platform just three years ago.

Wonder Group, a New York-based food ordering company that touts “fast fine” dining, is set to be Grubhub’s new owner. Under terms of the deal, announced Wednesday, Wonder will acquire Grubhub from Just Eat Takeaway.com for $150 million in cash and $500 million in senior notes.

That’s far less than than the price tag on Grubhub’s last sale. Back in 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and a surge in demand for takeout meals, Just Eat agreed to buy Grubhub for $7.3 billion — reportedly beating Uber to a merger — in a transaction that was later finalized in 2021.

Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com acknowledged Wednesday that it had been “actively exploring” the partial or full sale of Grubhub for some time, citing prior announcements from the company. Just Eat Takeaway.com added that selling Grubhub to Wonder would increase growth, cash generation and support investment in countries where it “has the greatest competitive advantage.” Beyond the U.S. the company currently operates in 18 other countries.

The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions. When completed, Just Eat Takeaway.com says it will retain no material liabilities related to Grubhub.

“This deal delivers the right home for Grubhub and its employees,” Just Eat Takeaway.com CEO Jitse Groen said in a statement. Shares of the company were up over 15% by midday Wednesday.

The CEOs of Wonder and Grubhub, Marc Lore and Howard Migdal, also sounded positive notes Wednesday — with both noting that the deal would aid Wonder’s mission to “make great food more accessible” and enhance customer experiences.

Wonder, founded by Lore, bills itself as a “new kind of food hall” and delivers made-to-order meals from well-known chefs and restaurants. The New York startup was once known for its fleet of delivery trucks, but later transitioned to a more of brick-and-mortar approach. Its online offerings have also grown. Last year, Wonder purchased meal kit company Blue Apron for $103 million.

Grubhub, headquartered in Chicago, operates in more than 4,000 U.S. cities — with over 375,000 merchants and 200,000 delivery partners across the country to date. According to Just Eat Takeaway.com, the platform generated 237 million orders with a gross transaction value of 8.06 billion euros (about $8.53 billion) last year.

Takeaway.com, which merged with Just Eat in 2020, and Grubhub were both founded in the early 2000s — making them some of the earliest entries in the sector. But competition rapidly increased as now-popular platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash also joined the game. And customers jumping between apps can make it difficult to keep sales stable.

As of March 2024, numbers from data analytics firm Bloomberg Second Measure showed that Grubhub made up only 8% of meal delivery consumer spending in the U.S. — far less than DoorDash or Uber Eats. DoorDash is currently winning the “food delivery war,” per Second Measure, making up 67% of these sales, followed by Uber Eats’ 23%.

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This story has been updated to correct that GrubHub generated a gross transaction value of 8.06 billion euros, not million.