Just Eat Takeaway.com N.V. (ENXTAM:TKWY) is looking at selling U.S. arm Grubhub Inc. less than a year after buying it, under pressure from investors to revive its shares amid stiff competition and a fading pandemic boost. In an abrupt turnaround, Chief Executive Officer Jitse Groen said Takeaway had hired banks to explore a possible sale of Grubhub - alongside potential partnership options it was already exploring - and that buyers had expressed more than casual interest. “We are in talks with people around this (a sale), but I need to caution that doesn't automatically lead to a transaction,” Groen told reporters.

Takeaway, which paid $7.3 billion for Grubhub in 2021 while racking up a billion-euro loss, has been hit as investors reappraise valuations for loss-making technology companies and stocks seen as big beneficiaries of the pandemic. At current levels, Takeaway's market value of €5.3 billion ($5.8 billion) is less than it paid for Grubhub.