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GrubHub GRUB, +1.79% shares plummeted more than 8% in late trading Thursday after the food-ordering company said it’s not on the auction block despite reports to the contrary.
“While our policy is not to comment on rumors, given the considerable media speculation that appeared yesterday, 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 GrubHub spokesperson said.
“We have always consulted advisors about a broad range of issues, including potential acquisition opportunities — that has not changed,” the spokesperson added
On Wednesday, GrubHub’s stock rose 12%, to $54.75 a share, on a Wall Street Journal report that said GrubHub has tapped advisers to help it review its strategic options, including a sale.
The Post reported later that day that GrubHub had been exploring a sale for months without any takers.
Wall Street skeptics say GrubHub’s wording, including that “there are currently no plans” to sell, leaves the door open for a sale should the right suitor approach.
Executives from Walmart have mulled acquiring GrubHub as a way to grow its nascent grocery delivery service, according to ex-Amazon exec and supply-chain consultant Brittain Ladd.
“GrubHub’s drivers who do restaurant delivery could also do online grocery delivery,” Ladd explained.
Walmart declined to comment.
