The company behind takeaway brand Just Eat has agreed a £5.8 million deal to merge with food delivery service Grubhub, beating off competition from Uber.

If the move is completed and receives regulatory approval it will create one of the world’s biggest takeaway giants.

The combined business will have more than 70 million active users across 25 countries.

The businesses will combine without any cash changing hands by simply swapping shares, Just Eat Takeaway said.

Under the terms of the deal, which will need approval from both sets of shareholders, Grubhub investors would own 30% of the combined group.

Confirmation of the deal came just hours after Just Eat Takeaway.com said it was in “advanced discussions” over a tie-up.

The deal has seen the Anglo-Dutch firm beat competition from Uber, the taxi company which also runs food delivery business Uber Eats.

Last month, top US Democrat politicians raised worries over the potential tie-up between Uber and Grubhub, saying it would create America’s single largest delivery firm.

Reports had emerged in recent days that Grubhub was also receiving interest from Just Eat Takeaway and Delivery Hero.

The deal comes just months after Takeaway.com sealed a £6.2 billion deal to buy Just Eat, after a long and bitter takeover battle.

The UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), gave the move the green light in April.

It said its investigation found there was “not a material likelihood” that Takeaway.com would have re-entered the UK in the future as a result of the deal, dampening potential competition concerns.

In April, a multimillion-pound investment in rival Deliveroo by Amazon was also provisionally cleared by the competition watchdog.