By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Dutch technology investor Prosus is set to win EU antitrust approval for its 4.1 billion euro ($4.7 billion) bid for Just Eat Takeaway, after agreeing to sell down its stake in Delivery Hero, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Amsterdam-headquartered Prosus, which is majority owned by South Africa’s Naspers, announced the deal in February, banking on its artificial intelligence capability to boost Just Eat Takeaway, Europe’s biggest meal delivery company.
Prosus last month offered to incrementally sell down its 27.4% stake in Delivery Hero and to give up its board seat to address EU competition concerns, other people familiar with the matter had told Reuters.
Delivery Hero and Just Eat Takeaway compete with each other in Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland and Spain.
The European Commission, which is now seeking market feedback to Prosus’ offer and will decide on the deal by August 11, declined to comment. Prosus also declined to comment.
The deal would make Prosus the world’s fourth-largest food delivery company after Meituan, DoorDash and Uber, according to ING analysts.
Delivery Hero and its Spanish unit Glovo were fined 329 million euros by the EU antitrust watchdog in June for taking part in a cartel which included an agreement to divide up markets among themselves and not to poach each other’s employees.
($1 = 0.8658 euros)
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens and David Holmes)
