UK Antitrust Agency Investigating Amazon’s Deliveroo Stake

UK Comp Regulator Opens Probe Into Amazon, Deliveroo Tie Up

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the U.K.’s competition regulator, said it has officially launched a probe into Amazon’s investment into restaurant takeaway company Deliveroo.

Reuters reported there’s a deadline of Dec. 11 on a decision on the first part of the investigation. In May, Amazon led a $575 million fundraising round in Deliveroo.

Deliveroo said the Series G round of venture funding also included T. Rowe Price, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and Greenoaks as investors.

The investigation will circle around whether there was or will be a “substantial lessening of competition” as a result of the investment.

Deliveroo has upwards of 60,000 employees who ride around in black and teal jackets to bring food from over 80,000 restaurants. The company operates in 13 countries.

Amazon wants to be able to compete with rival Uber Eats and needed a well-known inroad into the food delivery world. The industry is worth in the neighborhood of $100 billion a year.

A previous CMA decision ordered both companies to operate independently of each other because it said they both had “ceased to be distinct,” or were making plans to make that happen.

“Deliveroo is cooperating fully with the CMA,” a Deliveroo spokesman said. “This minority investment will help to create jobs, help restaurants to grow their businesses, improve choice for consumers and enhance competition in the U.K. food delivery sector.”

In August, Deliveroo announced that it was going to end its operations in Germany.

In terms of its presence in Germany, the company has had 1,100 riders spread across five cities, with an overall employee count of 100. Deliveroo said it will bring its focus to other markets across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Upon its exit from the country of Germany, Deliveroo has said that “appropriate compensation and goodwill packages” would be extended to all employees and riders.