The brief, beleaguered run of meal kit startup Youfoodz as an ASX-listed company looks set to end

There’s some relief for investors in Youfoodz Holdings Ltd  today following a takeover bid by German-owned meal kit delivery rival HelloFresh.

Youfoodz (ASX: YFZ) shares have jumped 77% to $0.902 cents following the offer at $0.93 per share in cash by way of a scheme of arrangement. The company said it has entered into a binding Scheme Implementation Deed (SID) with HelloFresh.

The offer is an 82% premium of 82%on the company’s the last closing price of A$0.51 per share and a 109%premium to the one-month volume weighted average price (VWAP) of $0.44.

The bad news for investors who backed the $70 million Youfoodz IPO in December last year is that the offer price is a 38% discount on the listing price of $1.50.

The Queensland company’s float had an inauspicious start, losing more than 20% on its opening day of trade, and continuing south every since, to a low of $0.375 cents.

The board has backed the takeover offer, saying it “represents an opportunity for Youfoodz shareholders to realise certain value with respect to their investment at a material premium to its trading as a public company”. RGT Capital Fund No. 6, which has a 57.4% stake in Youfoodz, is also backing the HelloFresh offer.

Having listed with a market capitalisation of $202 million, the offer values the fully diluted equity of Youfoodz at approximately A$125.3 million. The business had FY2020 revenue of $127.3 million for an after tax loss of $6.2 million. The FY21 forecast was for revenue of $149.9 million and a $0.6 million net loss.

The scheme remains subject to Youfoodz shareholder approval, Federal Court approval, and other conditions.

Youfoodz shareholders will vote on the HelloFresh scheme at a shareholder meeting, expected for October 2021.

If the conditions of the scheme are satisfied, the company expects the takeover – and its subsequent delisting from the ASX to take place in  in October or November 2021.

Youfoodz has retained Greenhill & Co. as financial adviser and Baker McKenzie as legal adviser.