Just Eat, McDonald's in Talks to Form Delivery Partnership in Spain

By Adria Calatayud

Online food-ordering platform Just Eat PLC (JE.LN) is in talks with McDonald's Corp. (MCD) to form a delivery partnership in Spain, Just Eat's Spain Managing Director Patrik Bergareche said Friday.

Both companies have been doing trials in Spain and are negotiating a "new phase" in their relationship, Mr. Bergareche said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

Just Eat--which recently merged with Dutch food-delivery company Takeaway.com to form Just Eat Takeaway.com NV (TKWY.AE)--said on Jan. 28 that it had established a food-delivery partnership with McDonald's in the U.K. and Ireland.

Takeaway.com added the U.S. fast-food chain to its food-delivery platform in the Netherlands in December, and previously struck similar deals in Germany, Poland, Belgium and Bulgaria.

Mr. Bergareche said Just Eat's Spanish operations are waiting on a decision from the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority on whether the Just Eat-Takeaway.com merger might hurt competition in the U.K.

Last week, the U.K. antitrust regulator served an initial enforcement order for the merger, forcing Just Eat and Takeaway.com to be run independently until the end of the investigation or until the order is lifted.

Investor sentiment toward food-delivery startups seems to be cooling down, which could create difficulties for them, Mr. Bergareche said. So far, however, Mr. Bergareche said he hasn't seen a drastic change in promotional activity by Just Eat's rivals in Spain.

Write to Adria Calatayud at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 07, 2020 10:50 ET (15:50 GMT)

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