Grubhub Says It ‘Unequivocally’ Isn’t Running Sale Process

(Bloomberg) -- Grubhub Inc. said the food-delivery company isn’t for sale, pushing back against media reports that had sent its stock surging.

“We felt it was important to clarify that there is unequivocally no process in place to sell the company and there are currently no plans to do so,” a representative for the company said in a statement. “We have always consulted advisers about a broad range of issues, including potential acquisition opportunities -- that has not changed.”

Grubhub is confident in its growth strategy whether or not it makes acquisitions, the representative said.

The Wall Street Journal and New York Post reported Wednesday that Grubhub was considering a potential sale.

Shares of Chicago-based Grubhub fell 6.1% to $52.34 at 9:40 a.m. in New York trading Friday, giving the company a market value of about $4.8 billion.

Grubhub’s place in the food delivery market has fallen precipitously over the past year as upstarts spent aggressively to break in. Its stock, which nosedived after it published a dismal earnings forecast, remains down about 36% from a year ago.

Unlike many of its peers, Grubhub has been profitable. The company reported net income of $1 million on revenue of $322 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30. Analysts estimate it will have an adjusted loss of $3.7 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

(Updates with share price in fifth paragraph)

--With assistance from Mark Milian.

To contact the reporters on this story: Liana Baker in New York at lbaker75@bloomberg.net;Leslie Patton in Chicago at lpatton5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Liana Baker at lbaker75@bloomberg.net, ;Sally Bakewell at sbakewell1@bloomberg.net, Michael Hytha, Andrew Pollack

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