Delivery Hero: EU opens proceedings for possible competition law infringements
The EU Commission has initiated proceedings against Delivery Hero. The suspicion: anti-competitive agreements to the detriment of customers and employees.
Delivery Hero headquarters in Berlin-Mitte.
(Image: Delivery Hero)
After lengthy preliminary investigations, the EU Commission has now launched an antitrust investigation into the delivery service Delivery Hero. Among other things, this concerns the question of whether Delivery Hero has colluded with its former competitor Glovo, which is based in Spain.
The EU Commission sees reasonable grounds to suspect that the companies not only colluded on business territories, but also did not want to poach each other's staff. They are also alleged to have shared business secrets with each other.
The preliminary investigations for the proceedings that have now been formally opened have been dragging on since 2022. The EU Commission had the offices of the two companies searched with the help of the competition authorities in Germany and Spain. Delivery Hero had acquired a minority stake in Glovo from 2018 and acquired a majority stake in the company in 2022.
High penalties possible
EU Vice-President Margrethe Vestager emphasized: "If the suspicions are confirmed, such conduct may constitute a breach of EU competition rules with potentially negative effects on prices and consumer choice and opportunities for workers." All three allegations could result in severe penalties - up to 10 percent of annual turnover per infringement.
(olb)
