Minority shareholding and cartel - the EC settlement with Delivery Hero and Glovo

On 2 June 2025, the Commission fined food delivery service providers Delivery Hero and Glovo with almost 330 million euro for a cartel.

What’s noticeable about this cartel is that it related solely to Delivery Hero’s minority non-controlling shareholding in its competitor Glovo. Before acquiring sole control over Glovo on 22 July 2022, Delivery Hero had a non-controlling stake in Glovo since 2018. The Commission identified several competition law infringements relating to Delivery Hero’s minority shareholding between July 2018 and July 2022:

• 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Delivery Hero influenced Glovo’s commercial strategy and behaviour, leading the two companies to align business strategies and to share markets in the EEA.
• 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Delivery Hero used its board position to obtain commercially sensitive information found in typical board documents.
• 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Delivery Hero and Glovo had agreed on reciprocal no-hire clauses for certain employees.
• 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟: ties between the two companies’ staff at different levels and across functions resulted in additional exchanges of commercially sensitive information.

The decision is a useful reminder that there is a big difference between (joint) control or no control in competition law, and that the application of competition law to minority shareholdings is not just a theoretical concern.

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨? Read the full text of the decision here: https://lnkd.in/ee7ndSD4

𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? Please do not hesitate to get in contact.

#europeancommission #competitionlaw #antitrust #lawfirm #contrastupdate