Just Eat Takeaway is facing turmoil in the boardroom after the CEO resigned amid an investigation by the courier group into a formal complaint about misconduct at a corporate event.
Just Eat’s board said it would not propose Jörg Gerbig, its chief operating officer, to re-elect the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday, as it had to hire an “external expert” to investigate a possible “personal misconduct”. behavior ”.
Group chairman Adrian Nyun also announced plans to step down shortly before the group’s annual shareholders’ meeting, as the supply company faces anger from shareholders over a failed takeover deal and heavy losses.
The company said the investigation into the complaint against Gerbig, which it said was “not related to financial or accounting obligations”, was already in its infancy and no conclusions had been drawn.
Just Eat said that the confidentiality of its policy on whistleblowers and the “requirement for an in-depth process recognizing the confidentiality and interests of all involved” means “no additional information can be provided at this time”.
It is unclear which company event the complaint relates to, but Just Eat was recently criticized for organizing a lavish ski trip for more than 5,000 employees, called Snow Fest, in Arosa, Switzerland, last month at a reported price of € 15 million (£ 12 million). , 6 m).
Gerbig cooperated fully with the investigation and informed the Just Eat board that he had “full confidence in the outcome”.
He will cease to be a member of the group’s board of directors from the end of Wednesday’s group meeting, and Just Eat said he would provide further updates to the investigation “if and when appropriate”.
Nyun also unexpectedly announced plans to withdraw, as he acknowledged that “it is clear that shareholders have concerns about the challenges facing the company.”
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Just Eat faces a riot of shareholders at its annual meeting after revealing rejection orders and plans to sell all or part of its US-based company Grubhub, which it bought for $ 7.3 billion in a deal struck less than two years ago. years and completed last year. The company recently revealed a pre-tax loss of more than € 1.1 billion (£ 916 million) for 2021, although it said it was “rapidly moving towards profitability”.
Just Eat’s second-largest shareholder, the American fund Rock Rock, called for a shake-up on the company’s board, saying there had been a “complete loss of confidence” from investors as their stock fell about 75% in two years .
In an open letter to other shareholders, Cat Rock called on them to block the re-election of Just Eat’s chief financial officer and change his supervisory board to “restore confidence in the capital markets” and “quickly shift business to Europe”.
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