The European Commission has inflicted an overall sanction of 329 million euros to Delivery Hero (Germany) and his subsidiary Glovo (Spain). A very hard punishment for anti -concurrence practices in the home deliveries market.
According to Brussels, the two platforms have entered into a real sign Between 2018 and 2022: they would have agreed in order not to “blow” employees to each other (non-assumption agreements or no-power), to systematically exchange sensitive information on activities and to divide the geographical markets.
Record fine to Delivery Hero and Glovo: what the EU has decided
The two companies, according to the EU investigation, had created a system in which each he avoided disturbing the other business. In some cases, they would have even advised themselves in case of expansion provided in new territories. Brussels defined the behavior a classic “Organcongorrential horizontal agreement“Prohibited by the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (Tfue), article 101.
Delivery Hero will have to pay 223 million euros, Glovo 105.7. Both giants have confirmed the substance of the agreements And accepted the transaction, thus collecting a 10% discount on the amount. The Commission has followed the fine considering the duration and methods of infringements, without discounts on method and intentions.
Agreement to limit competition
According to the commission, during the period in which Delivery Hero was a minority shareholder of Glovo (from 2018 until the acquisition of the control in 2022), illegal understanding would have occurred to limit the competition.
The agreements provided for do not subtract the employees (especially managers and technical profiles), to exchange strategic commercial information (including conversations via WhatsApp and email) and to divide the markets, avoiding entry into geographical areas where the other was already active.
The stages of the antitrust investigation: from 2018 to the 2025 agreement
The formal investigation of the Commission was Open in June 2022but some reports had already emerged previously, also from competitors and sector analysts. In 2023 surprise inspections were carried out at the central offices of Delivery Hero and Glovo.
Have been acquired internal documents and recordings of conversations that confirmed the existence of the sign. After almost three years of investigation, on June 2, 2025 the Commission closed the case with a transaction, accepting the cooperation of the companies involved.
The consequences of the fine
It is the first time that Brussels puts a fine on the labor market black on white. Not on prices, but on people: here we speak of detained managers, of offers never made, of hiring blocked at the table. Food Delivery, already fatigued by shaky models and an endless price war, now also has to deal with a regulator who has decided to raise the head.
Delivery Hero had 400 million aside, a sign that something has boiled for some timeprobably expected it. The fine came lighter than expected, so the group will be able to recover a part of the supplies without touching the operational accounts.
