Key takeaways
- EC fines two food delivery companies €329 million for cartel in EU’s online food delivery sector by agreeing not to poach each other’s employees, exchanging commercially sensitive information and allocating markets
- Decision marks double first in EU antitrust enforcement: first to fine cartel in labour market and first to sanction abuse of minority stake
- EC started case on own initiative, relying on information from national authorities and own whistleblowing tool, confirming that it is actively monitoring markets (especially consumer-facing) for antitrust infringements
Background
On 2 June 2025, the European Commission (EC) fined two food delivery companies, Delivery Hero and Glovo, a total of €329 million for participating in a cartel from July 2018 to July 2022, during which Delivery Hero held only a non-controlling minority stake in Glovo. Delivery Hero acquired sole control of Glovo in July 2022.
Specifically, the EC found that the two companies progressively removed competitive constraints between them by agreeing:
- Not to poach each other’s employees. The shareholders’ agreement signed when Delivery Hero acquired a non-controlling minority stake in Glovo included limited reciprocal no-hire clauses for certain employees. This arrangement was later expanded into a broader agreement between the companies not to actively approach each other’s employees.
- To exchange commercially sensitive information. Exchanging commercially sensitive information – including on commercial strategies, prices, capacity, costs and product characteristics – enabled the companies to align and influence their respective market conduct.
- To allocate geographic markets. In particular, the two companies agreed to divide national markets for online food delivery in the EEA by (i) removing all existing geographic overlaps; (ii) avoiding entry into each other’s national markets; and (iii) coordinating which of them would enter markets where neither was yet present.
All these practices were facilitated by Delivery Hero’s minority shareholding in Glovo. In particular, the EC found that owning a non-controlling stake in Glovo enabled anti-competitive contacts between the two rival companies at several levels and allowed Delivery Hero to obtain access to commercially sensitive information and influence Glovo’s decision-making processes. Ultimately, this led to the alignment of the two companies’ respective business strategies.