Deliveroo rallies as activist investor Sachem Head said to have taken stake

Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying that Sachem Head sees Deliveroo as undervalued and that it could eventually become a takeover target, but isn’t yet actively pushing for changes.

It was understood that Deliveroo is planning defence strategies as it could become vulnerable to takeovers when a dual-class share structure expires in April next year.

Citi said in a note that the potential for further consolidation in food delivery involving Deliveroo has been a popular topic of investor debate, particularly as the class B shares of the company’s founder and chief executive, Will Shu, are due to expire in April 2024.

Citi noted that Shu’s share structure currently gives him around 5% to 6% ownership but around 51% to 56% share of votes.

At 0840 BST, the shares were up 6.6% at 123.20p.