The European Commission has imposed a fine of 329 million euros on Delivery Hero and Glovo, for making commercial agreements while they were still competitors. Nowadays, the German delivery service owns its Spanish counterpart.
Cartel in the labour market
Between July 2018 and July 2022, Delivery Hero and Glovo entered into commercial agreements with each other, even though they were competitors. That is the outcome of an investigation by the European antitrust authority, which raided both delivery companies in 2020. The two companies admitted their involvement and agreed to settle the case: Delivery Hero will pay over 223 million euros, Glovo nearly 106 million.
Delivery Hero took a minority stake in its Spanish competitor in 2018. Since then, the two companies agreed not to get in each other’s way: they agreed not to poach each other’s employees, they exchanged commercial information and they shared markets among themselves. This is the first time the Commission is sanctioning a no-poach agreement, and it is also the first time it has penalised the anti-competitive use of a minority stake in a rival company.
In July 2022, Delivery Hero acquired 94 % of Glovo’s shares, giving it full control of the company: this ended the illegality of the mutual arrangements.
