Sold by Just Eat Takeaway to Wonder for $650M (announced Nov 2024) β after JET paid $7.3B for it in 2021.
The rise & fall
8 moments Β· 2004β2024
The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.
2004
π±
2004
Founded in Chicago
Matt Maloney and Mike Evans put the paper takeout menu online β and help invent food ordering as an industry.
Wikipedia
Apr 2014
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Apr 2014
IPO β a unicorn out of the gate
Fresh off its merger with Seamless, Grubhub lists on the NYSE valued well above $1B.
CNBC
Sep 2018
π
Sep 2018
The peak: ~$13B$13B
The stock tops out near a $13B market value as delivery booms β just as Uber Eats and DoorDash start outspending it.
Macrotrends
Oct 2019
Oct 2019
A brutal shareholder letter
Grubhub admits growth is stalling as rivals flood the market with promotions; the stock craters.
CNBC
Jun 2021
Jun 2021
Just Eat Takeaway pays $7.3B$7.3B
The all-stock deal closes as the pandemic delivery boom fades; JET spends the next years trying to offload its purchase.
Bloomberg
2023β25
π¬
From the inside Β· Glassdoor reviews, 2023β25
Glassdoor reviews described the long limbo: employees said the June 2023 layoff β the company's first β broke earlier no-more-cuts assurances as further rounds followed, sales commissions were restructured downward, and benefits were pared back after the Wonder deal while the one-time category leader slipped to a distant third.
Nov 2024
π€
Nov 2024
Sold to Wonder for ~$650M$650M
Just Eat Takeaway, which paid $7.3B, offloads Grubhub to food-hall startup Wonder β more than 95% below the 2018 peak.
CNN
π¬ entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor β; dated facts carry their source.
How it happened
Grubhub helped invent online food ordering, going public in 2014 and peaking near a $13B market value in 2018. As Uber Eats and DoorDash out-spent it, its growth and margins eroded.
Just Eat Takeaway bought Grubhub for $7.3B in 2021, then spent years trying to offload it, selling to food-hall startup Wonder for just $650M in November 2024 β over 95% below Grubhub's peak.
Source: CNN / Bloomberg / TechCrunch (public peak market cap ~$13B 2018; Just Eat Takeaway bought it for $7.3B 2021; sold to Wonder $650M, Nov 2024, JET netting ~$50M)
Founders
Matt Maloney
Co-founder & CEO (2004-2021, led it through $7.3B JET sale peak)
Now Chairperson of the Board at HONK Β· LinkedIn β
