Takeaway.com’s Just Eat Buyout Faces Regulatory Setback

After a British competition body said it would probe its purchase of Just Eat, food delivery firm Takeaway.com said the forecasted timetable for its takeover would be longer than expected. Takeaway.com said in a statement that Just Eat would be known as Just Eat Takeaway.com as of the end of January and the firm’s shares will start trading with the new moniker in February, Reuters reported.

Just Eat shareholders agreed to the all-stock $8.2 billion deal earlier in January, over Prosus NV’s competing bid. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), however, said on Thursday (Jan. 23) that there may be an investigation into the arrangement. The regulatory body said it was seeking comments from interested parties by Feb. 6. It was previously reported that a U.K. investigation could delay the deal.

According to Takeaway, per past reports, the CMA wants to determine whether Takeaway would have come back to the British market without the current deal with Just Eats. The CMA confirmed it was looking into the matter, but could not provide further comment.

Takeaway left the British market in 2016 after losing 768,000 pounds, earning revenues of only 76,000 pounds. The company claimed they wouldn’t have come back if they hadn’t won the Just Eat buyout. Takeaway said they were open to a CMA probe and were confident that it would find no wrongdoing.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Takeaway.com NV was nearing victory. Investors holding more than half of the Just Eat’s shares indicated they would agree to all-stock offer from Takeaway.