The European Commission launches an investigation against Delivery Hero (Private:DHERO)

The European Commission announced on Tuesday that it has opened a formal antitrust investigation to determine whether Delivery Hero (DHERO) and Glovo have breached EU competition rules by participating in a cartel in the online ordering and delivery sector. of food, groceries and other consumer goods of daily use in the European Economic Area.

The EU Commission said that before Delivery Hero (DHERO) acquired Glovo, it was concerned that Glovo may have divided geographic markets and shared confidential business information such as business strategies, prices, capacities, costs and product characteristics. The Commission is also concerned that the companies may have agreed not to poach each other’s employees. Delivery Hero (DHERO)’s minority share in Glovo may have facilitated these practices. If proven, the companies’ conduct could violate EU competition rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices.

This is the European Commission’s first investigation into anti-competitive agreements that may have taken place in connection with an operator’s minority shareholding in a competitor.

The decision could impact other companies such as DoorDash (DASH), Just Eat Takeaway.com NV (OTCPK:JTKWY) and Uber Technologies (UBER).