European competition watchdog raids Delivery Hero and Glovo

The European anti-trust authority has raided delivery platforms Delivery Hero and Glovo out of concern for cartels. The newly formed merger duo are suspected of dividing the market among themselves.

Takeover just completed

The European competition watchdog opens an investigation into possible cartelisation of delivery platforms. Although the competition authority does not acknowledge it, according to TechCrunch, the targets supposedly were German meal delivery company Delivery Hero and its Spanish counterpart Glovo.

Delivery Hero took over Glovo at the end of last year and now owns 94% of its shares. Remarkably, the takeover was fully completed just this week. Both companies confirm that there have been unannounced inspections at their head offices this week.

Consolidation in the market

The European Commission is concerned that the meal suppliers might be deliberately dividing up the European national markets. However, the Commission emphasizes that there are no formal accusations yet and that this is only the first step in an exploratory investigation.

Among the delivery platforms, there is indeed a strong wave of consolidation going on, especially now that flash delivery companies like Gorillas are also appearing. Companies such as Deliveroo and UberEats are also trying to deliver groceries and other packages to expand their reach and remain competitive.