The “green light” in the gathering by Delivery Hero of the four companies of the Mouchalis group was turned on by the Competition Commission.
In particular, at a meeting of the Plenary Session of the Commission on 18 April 2022 (Decision 775/2022), it was decided, unanimously, the approval of the notified concentration by “DELIVERY HERO SE” concerning the acquisition of exclusive control over the companies a) “ALPHA DISTRIBUTIONS SA “, b)” INKAT SA “, c)” DELIVERY PC ” and d) “E-TABLE PC”, on the basis of the commitments undertaken by Delivery Hero SE vis-της-vis the Competition Commission, under the terms and conditions set forth therein (corrective measures), in accordance with article 8 par. 6 and 8 of Law 3959/2011.
Delivery Hero SE is the parent company of a group in Greece, whose subsidiary is the company “Online Delivery SA”, which operates the online ordering platform “efood”, through which consumers connect with restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and other local stores, as well as the company “Delivery Hero Dmart Greece AE”, which operates the online convenience store “efood market”. Regarding the acquired: (a) “Alfa Distributions SA.” is active in the wholesale market of supermarkets; (b) Inkat SA in the wholesale and, mainly, the retail sale of groceries through the “kiosky’s” convenience stores; (c) “Delivery.gr IKE” operates the “delivery” platform .gr “, which provides online mediation services for orders from restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and other local stores; and (d)” E-table Online Restaurant Reservations IKE Single Person “provides online mediation services for reservations in restaurants, through the “e-table” service.
According to the Decision, Delivery Hero, with the applications e-food.gr and delivery.gr, will have a strong share in the online mediation market for the sale of supermarket products after the acquisition, which is not expected to change significantly in the future given its of its exclusive cooperation with a large supermarket chain. However, in view of the bargaining power of other supermarkets, whose online sales are achieved primarily through proprietary websites, as opposed to online platforms, it is ultimately estimated that the merged entity will not be able to substantially change its competitive position. pre-merger situation and will therefore not be able to significantly restrict competition in that market.
It is estimated, however, that potentially uncoordinated behavioral effects arise from the combination of the new entity’s significant activities in the online mediation market for online restaurant booking services and in the online mediation market for e-food.
In particular, it is estimated that the merged entity will have both the capacity and the incentive to pursue a blockchain or group sales policy, offering online brokerage services for the sale of ready-to-eat food for which it already has a strong market position, together with online booking services. in restaurants, resulting in the reduction of the ability or motivation of its competitors in the market of online booking services in restaurants to exercise effective competition, but also possibly the strengthening of its power in the aforementioned markets through the use of e-table users’ data.
To address the above concerns of the Competition Commission, Delivery Hero has made the following commitments.
Delivery Hero (especially through efood) unreservedly undertakes not to (tying) the online mediation services for the sale of ready meals with the online booking services in restaurants, when it is addressed to professional customers / restaurants, in the Greek territory. The latter will be free to purchase each of the services separately. Also, the company unreservedly undertakes the obligation not to provide special discounts and / or to charge reduced commissions / fees to business customers / restaurants in Greece, when these customers / restaurants buy both online mediation services for the sale of ready meals (especially from the efood platform) as well as online restaurant reservation services (either through the efood platform, in case the e-table appears on it, or directly from the e-table).
In addition, Delivery Hero undertakes to take steps not to use the data of the end users of the efood platform in order to implement personalized promotion strategies for the e-table services and vice versa, unless it has previously received approval from the end users for the receipt of personalized advertising and marketing communications, in accordance with the existing provisions for the protection of personal data.
The observance of the Commitments will be controlled by a specially appointed Agent. Delivery Hero undertakes the Commitments for two (2) years from the date of completion of the transaction. At the end of the 2nd year of validity of the commitments, the extension of the Commitments for another (1) year will be examined based on quantitative data that will be submitted to the Trustee. The company reserves the right to request the Competition Commission to reconsider the corrective measures in case the market conditions change significantly and on a permanent basis.
It is clarified that for the purposes of the Commitments, the completion of the transaction is defined as the transfer of 100% of the share capital or in any other way the acquisition of exclusive control (directly or indirectly) by Delivery Hero SE over the company E-table Sole Proprietorship IKE.
Finally, in case of non-compliance with these commitments, the Competition Commission may impose the fines provided by law.
Source: Capital
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