European food delivery firms attract interest from activist investors

Just Eat Takeaway.com NV

05/04/2024 11:35

** Delivery Hero's  DHER.DE  shares open 3% lower
    ** Company's shares rose in the previous session following a
report that activist investor Sachem Head has built a 3.6% stake
in Delivery Hero, is seeking a seat on the supervisory board of
the German food delivery company and looking to potentially oust
CEO Niklas Oestberg
    ** Friday's share fall is likely profit taking after
Thursday's jump and the generally positive performance of the
past few weeks - mwb Research analyst Alexander Zienkowicz
    ** "Sachem's past activist campaigns have generated good
returns. From an investor's point of view, this is certainly
positive news" – Zienkowicz
    ** New larger shareholder with potential board
representation would potentially improve corporate governance at
Delivery Hero and trigger M&A activity going forward, J.P.Morgan
says, reiterating "overweight" rating on company's shares
    ** Sachem Head also disclosed a 5.2% stake in British meal
delivery company Deliveroo  ROO.L  last month, and another
activist investor Eminence Capital also took a 3% direct stake
in Dutch rival Just Eat Takeaway  TKWY.AS  at the end of March
    ** Both activist investors likely to lobby for footprint
rationalization at Delivery Hero and Just Eat Takeaway, says
Clément Genelot, analyst at Bryan, Garnier & Co
    ** Mergers between the companies unlikely and replacing the
CEOs would also prove to be complicated given the shareholding
structures of both Delivery Hero and Just Eat Takeaway - Genelot

 (Reporting by Eva Orsolya Papp)
 ((evaorsolya.papp@thomsonreuters.com))