EU antitrust agency raids Germany's Delivery Hero

The European Commission has conducted an inspection at Delivery Hero's offices in Berlin, the German online takeaway food company said on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Germany's cartel office said it had assisted the European Commission with a review of online delivery services on June 27.

The European Commission has conducted an inspection at Delivery Hero's offices in Berlin, the German online takeaway food company said on Wednesday. The European Union's antitrust regulator said earlier that online food and grocery delivery firms in two EU countries had been raided over concerns they may be in a cartel, but did not name the companies involved or the countries.

"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," the EU antitrust agency said in a statement. Delivery Hero said the inspection did not mean the Commission, which acts as the antitrust enforcer in the 27-country bloc, had concluded there had been an actual infringement of competition law.

The company, which also controls Glovo in Spain, said it was committed to cooperating fully with the Commission. Just Eat Takeaway, the biggest online food delivery firm in the EU, Uber, which owns Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Estonia's Bolt and grocery services Gorillas and Flink were not involved, company spokespeople said.

Companies found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules face fines up to 10% of their global turnover. A spokesperson for Germany's cartel office said it had assisted the European Commission with a review of online delivery services on June 27.