The European Commission has raided the offices of Delivery Hero in Germany and Glovo in Spain on suspicion that they colluded to share the market for food and grocery delivery services.
The Commission announced that it has carried out unannounced inspections of a number of online food, grocery and consumer goods delivery businesses in two member states — citing concerns over potential breaches of EU competition laws against forming cartels and other restrictive business practices. “The investigation concerns an alleged agreement or concerted practice to share national markets for the online ordering and delivery of food, groceries and other consumer goods in the European Union,” it said.
Both companies confirmed that they had been the target of inspections. “Delivery Hero confirms that the European Commission conducted an inspection at its offices in Berlin,” read a company statement. Glovo provided a similar statement, saying “We can confirm that the European Commission has approached Glovo,” and that “we are confident that Glovo meets all antitrust and compliance requirements.”
Unannounced inspections are a preliminary step into suspected anticompetitive practices. The fact that the Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself.
In separate news, Delivery Hero recently announced that it had completed the acquisition of Glovo, another food delivery provider.
