Grubhub owner
Just Eat Takeaway.com
TKWY -8.77%
NV on Wednesday said it had launched an investigation into its chief operating officer over a complaint about possible personal misconduct at a company event.
The food-delivery company said its supervisory board had recently been informed of a formal complaint regarding
Jörg Gerbig
and would hire an external expert to conduct a probe. As the investigation is at its initial stage, no conclusions have been drawn, it added. Nevertheless, Just Eat said it had withdrawn a shareholder vote to reappoint Mr. Gerbig as a management board member and COO at its annual general meeting later Wednesday.
A company spokeswoman said in an emailed statement that the supervisory board decided it isn’t prudent for Mr. Gerbig to stand for reappointment to the management board while he is subject to an internal investigation of possible misconduct.
Mr. Gerbig couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Just Eat declined to make him available for an interview.
The investigation comes as Just Eat battles shareholder dissatisfaction with last year’s $7.3 billion acquisition of Grubhub, which is losing out to fast-growing rivals
DoorDash
and
Uber Technologies Inc.’s
Uber Eats. Last month, Just Eat said it was exploring a strategic partnership, or full sale of Grubhub Inc., which is the U.S.’s third-largest food-delivery app.
Just Eat said the misconduct complaint against Mr. Gerbig wasn’t related to financial or reporting matters but didn’t provide any further information about it. The company said Mr. Gerbig was fully cooperating with the investigation and had told the supervisory board that he has full confidence in the outcome of the probe.
The Amsterdam-based company said Mr. Gerbig would step down as COO and as a member of the management board Wednesday at least until the investigation is complete. He might be put up for re-election if the complaint proves to be unfounded, the company added.
Also Wednesday, Just Eat said that Chairman Adriaan Nühn wouldn’t seek re-election at the annual general meeting. Mr. Nühn said his resignation was prompted by shareholder concerns about the challenges the company is facing and that Just Eat and its board needed strong shareholder support to ensure the board could fully focus on the challenges and opportunities ahead.
“Not seeking re-election is, I believe, the best decision I can take with regard to serving the interests of the company and its stakeholders, including its shareholders,” Mr. Nühn said. Vice Chairwoman Corrine Vigreux will assume Mr. Nühn’s duties while the supervisory board begins a search for a permanent successor, the company said in a statement.
Just Eat’s shares were down as much as 7% in morning trading Wednesday, bringing their total fall over the past 12 months to more than 70%.
Write to Denise Roland at [email protected]
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