Prosus to acquire remaining stake in iFood from Just Eat

Just Eat Holding has agreed to sell 33.3% stake in iFood, one of the biggest tech success stories in Latin America, to Naspers division Prosus. 

The global consumer internet group announced on Friday, 19 August that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the remaining third stake in the Brazilian food delivery company with the minority shareholder Just Eat Holding Limited for €1.5-billion (R25.55bn) in cash plus a contingent consideration of up to €300-million. 

The contingent consideration may become payable if the food delivery sector re-rates on a gross merchandise value and gross profit multiple basis over the next 12 months. As part of the transaction, Just Eat will also acquire, for no additional consideration, IF-JE Holdings BV’s 49% interest in El Cocinero a Cuerda SA, the holding company of Sindelantal, a food delivery business in Mexico, that ceased operations in December 2020.

The deal is expected to close in Q4 of 2022.

Prosus has been in talks to increase its stake in iFood since 2020, Bloomberg News reported at the time. Once completed, Prosus and its affiliate, Movile will fully own iFood.

Just Eat reportedly planned to use the proceeds of the sale to strengthen its balance sheet and repay debt as it looks for ways to cope with diminishing order growth this year. The Amsterdam-based company is also still pursuing a partial or full sale of its Grubhub business, according to Bloomberg. 

iFood, which currently operates in Brazil and Colombia, is a platform business which includes food delivery, grocery, quick commerce, and fintech.

Bob van Dijk, CEO of Prosus, says in a statement that iFood has performed “exceptionally well” since they first invested in the platform through Movile nearly a decade ago. “During this time Fabricio (Bloisi, founder of Movile) and team have built a world-class food delivery business. They have shaped the sector in Brazil, creating a platform that serves 330,000 restaurant partners, provides income opportunities for 200,000 delivery partners, and delivers approximately 70 million orders every month. 

“Increasing our stake to full ownership is a demonstration of our committed and disciplined approach to investment and reflects our confidence in the long-term potential of iFood. We are excited to continue to be a supportive and active partner for iFood as the company steps into its next phase of innovation and growth.”