GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cat Rock Capital Management LP, a long-term oriented investment firm and beneficial owner of approximately 17.7 million shares of the common stock of Just Eat plc (LSE: JE), representing circa 3% of Just Eat’s outstanding shares, and 3.9 million shares of the common stock of Takeaway.com N.V., representing circa 6% of Takeaway.com’s outstanding shares, today issued a statement regarding the proposed merger between Just Eat and Takeaway.com.
Alex Captain, Founder and Managing Partner, Cat Rock Capital Management LP, commented:
“It is shocking that the CMA would investigate the Just Eat merger with Takeaway.com. Takeaway.com has no UK operations, exited its minor business there over three years ago, and has stated that it had no intention to enter the UK market before the Just Eat merger.
“The CMA’s investigation seems to draw a false equivalence between Takeaway.com’s merger with Just Eat and Amazon’s investment in Deliveroo. Amazon has a large UK business with millions of customers that it could leverage to re-enter the UK online food delivery market and increase competition. Takeaway.com has no such UK presence, customer base, or brand name. It is patently absurd to compare Takeaway.com with Amazon when evaluating the outlook for future competition.
“The Just Eat merger with Takeaway.com creates a leading FTSE 100-listed technology company with a growing business in the UK and abroad. The combined company will have the resources to invest in competing against dominant global technology companies in the online food delivery space like Uber and Amazon. Any action the CMA takes to block this merger would only impair a UK-based company’s ability to effectively compete against these dominant platforms.
“The CMA has had an opportunity to review the Just Eat and Takeaway.com merger for almost six months since it was first announced in early August 2019. We hope that any review that starts today, when the combined company’s shares are meant to begin trading, would be conducted quickly and fairly.”
Cat Rock’s previously released open letters regarding Just Eat and Takeaway.com can be downloaded and read in full at JustEatMustDeliver.com.
Sidley Austin LLP and White & Case LLP are serving as legal advisors to Cat Rock Capital Management LP.
About Cat Rock Capital Management LP
Cat Rock Capital Management LP is a long-term focused investment firm that manages capital on behalf of pension funds, endowments, foundations, and other institutional investors. It seeks to invest in a select number of high-quality companies, with a long-term approach that emphasizes deep fundamental research. Cat Rock Capital is based in Connecticut, USA and was founded in 2015 by Alex Captain, a former Partner at Tiger Global Management.
