By Samuel Indyk
Investing.com – Cat Rock Capital has released a presentation on Just Eat Takeaway (LON:JETJ), calling for the food delivery company to actively evaluate strategic actions to drive shareholder value.
The activist investor, which owns around 4.7% of Just Eat’s outstanding shares said it has been pleased with the company’s operational performance under CEO Jitse Groen but has been “deeply disappointed” by the company’s poor handling of its relationship with investors.
“JET’s deeply flawed communication has made it the worst-performing online food delivery stock over the past two years despite strong operational performance,” Cat Rock Capital said in a statement. “JET’s share price has declined -11% over the past two years even as its Gross Merchandise Value (“GMV”) has grown over 100%.”
Explore Strategic Options
Cat Rock Capital said Just Eat (LON:JE) should explore strategic combinations with other global players that could strengthen the company and generate significant shareholder value.
Other large food delivery companies include DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) and Delivery Hero (DE:DHER). China’s Meituan (HK:3690) may also be an option although the current crackdown on Chinese technology companies may make that a less suitable alternative.
“JET can quickly and materially improve its standing in the capital markets by improving transparency, selling non-core assets, and exploring strategic options to strengthen the business and generate significant shareholder value,” said Cat Rock Capital Founder and Managing Partner Alex Captain.
With the share price leaving the company deeply “undervalued”, Captain believes the company could be subject to takeover bids far below its intrinsic value.
At 09:07BST, shares in Just Eat were trading higher by 1.2% at 6,063 pence per share.