Just Eat Takeaway sells Grubhub for $650 million, just 3 years after buying the app for $7.3 billion

NEW YORK (AP) — European food delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway.com is selling Grubhub for $650 million, a fraction of the billions it spent to buy the U.S. platform just three years ago.

Wonder Group, a New York-based food ordering company that touts “fast fine” dining, is set to be Grubhub's new owner. Under terms of the deal, announced Wednesday, Wonder will acquire Grubhub from Just Eat Takeaway.com for $150 million in cash and $500 million in senior notes.

That's far less than than the price tag on Grubhub's last sale. Back in 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and a surge in demand for takeout meals, Just Eat agreed to buy Grubhub for $7.3 billion — reportedly beating Uber to a merger — in a transaction that was later finalized in 2021.

Amsterdam-based Just Eat Takeaway.com acknowledged Wednesday that it had been “actively exploring” the partial or full sale of Grubhub for some time, citing prior announcements from the company. Just Eat Takeaway.com added that selling Grubhub to Wonder would increase growth, cash generation and support investment in countries where it "has the greatest competitive advantage.” Beyond the U.S. the company currently operates in 18 other countries.