Delivery Hero SE shares fell by the most in two months after the company warned it faces an antitrust fine that could exceed €400 million ($433 million) from European Union regulators.
The German food delivery company plans to “significantly increase” the cash it’s set aside for the potentially larger-than-expected penalty, it said in a statement on Sunday. It’s already put aside €186 million, the company said.
Shares fell as much as 18% on Monday, the most since April 26, and were trading at €20.33 at about 2:44 p.m. In Frankfurt.
The anticipated fine relates to alleged illegal pacts to share markets, share commercially sensitive information and not to poach rival staff, Delivery Hero said in its statement. Its decision to up its cash provision for the fine is “based on recent informal engagement with the European Commission and subsequent detailed analysis,” it said.
The European Commission declined to comment on Monday.
The EU regulator has yet to publish findings on Delivery Hero, but officials twice raided the company and Spanish subsidiary Glovo in 2022 and 2023, looking for evidence of illegal pacts. It said it was concerned about food delivery companies violating rules that “prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices” without naming potential culprits.
Both Delivery Hero and Glovo confirmed they had been raided at the time. Delivery Hero acquired a majority stake in Glovo in 2022.
The antitrust scrutiny comes at a time when the food delivery industry is grappling with high competition and thin profit margins.
