A business acquiring a minority share in a competitor must take care to ensure the stake is properly structured and controlled to mitigate the risk of competition law violations in the EU or UK, McGuireWoods London partner Matthew Hall wrote in the October 2025 edition of PLC Magazine.
Minority stakes in a competitor aren’t illegal under EU or UK antitrust/competition law, but cross-ownership between competitors may raise risks and should be handled carefully, Hall cautioned. The European Commission highlighted those risks in June when it fined Delivery Hero and Glovo, two food delivery companies, a combined €329 million ($386 million) for cartel activity.
Berlin-based Delivery Hero took a minority stake in Barcelona-based Glovo in 2018 and acquired the whole company in 2022. The European Commission found that in the meantime, the two companies engaged in anti-competitive practices by signing a no-poach pact, exchanging commercially sensitive information and allocating geographic markets. These activities “were clear infringements of EU competition law,” Hall explained.
“Minority stakes can and should still be used but the Commission’s decision is a good reminder that measures need to be in place or updated as necessary in this situation, as well as in similar situations, such as joint ventures or where a private equity investor holds minority stakes in competing businesses,” Hall wrote. “The issue is highly relevant to start-ups in technology areas where investors often take an initial minority stake, potentially with a very high-value investment, with a board position.”