Delivery Hero eyes asset sales after investor pressure

Delivery Hero is reviewing its strategy and considering asset sales after pressure from investors over its falling share price.

The German food delivery group, which operates in 70 countries and owns brands like Talabat, Glovo, and Foodpanda, has seen its shares drop 30% in the past year, erasing about €1.5 billion (US$1.8 billion) from its market value.

Chair Kristin Skogen Lund expressed support for CEO and founder Niklas Östberg, calling for stability as the company works to improve operational performance.

Earlier this week, Skogen Lund and Östberg told investors the company would evaluate options, including divestments, partnerships, and capital market transactions.

Shares rose over 13% after the announcement, but later pulled back.

Prosus, Delivery Hero’s largest shareholder, plans to reduce its stake from 27% to single digits by August 2026.

The company was also fined €329 million (US$385 million) by the EU in June for participating in a food delivery cartel with its subsidiary Glovo.

🔗 Source: Financial Times

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Delivery Hero’s €329m cartel fine points to bigger compliance costs across food delivery

On 2 June 2025 the European Commission fined Delivery Hero €329 million for cartel conduct. It was the first EU labour market cartel sanction 1. The fine covered no-poach agreements (promises not to hire each other’s workers) and market allocation (dividing territories or customers). It also covered sensitive information exchange (sharing wages, pricing, or strategy data) 1.
The Commission treated practices from July 2018 to July 2022 as one continuous infringement under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) 2. This set a precedent that labour market restrictions face the same scrutiny as product market cartels.
No-poach agreements inhibit labour mobility and reduce innovation, so the Commission classed them as “by object” restrictions that are illegal without proving harmful effects 1.
National competition authorities have stepped up enforcement in Slovakia and France. Cases also landed in Portugal, Finland, and the UK 3. That adds sector-wide compliance pressure.

RegTech vendors can capitalize on tightened antitrust scrutiny in platform ecosystems

The decision tightens scrutiny of anti-competitive use of minority shareholdings (stakes below a controlling interest) 4. Delivery Hero’s minority stake in Glovo during parts of the period gave it access to sensitive information and influence over competitive decisions 4.
Marketplace operators and investors will need tools that document guardrails (clear policies, access controls, and audit logs) for competitively sensitive information shared with minority shareholders plus software to manage conduct of board representatives (investor-appointed directors) 3.
Private equity investors (firms that buy stakes in companies using pooled funds) with minority holdings across rivals face higher antitrust risk 3. They need strong safeguards for sensitive information pre-completion during mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Corporate legal and HR teams should review employee retention agreements 1. Less restrictive options include non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or compliant non-compete clauses under local law, which opens room for legal tech platforms (software for legal compliance) focused on competition law.