(new: share price updated, more analysts)

BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Potential violations of EU antitrust law are likely to cost the food delivery service Delivery Hero significantly more money than previously thought. The corresponding fine could amount to more than 400 million euros, the company announced on Sunday evening. Delivery Hero had previously only set aside 186 million euros for the conflict. Accordingly, the company announced a significant increase in the corresponding provision.

As a result, the Delivery Hero share price fell sharply towards its record low from February at the start of trading on Monday. The shares of the MDax-listed company fell by double digits to EUR 17.35 in the meantime. However, this was followed by a significant recovery, especially as analysts generally remained calm despite the negative news. They do not see any serious threat to the company, even in view of a potentially higher fine.

In the course of trading, the share was therefore able to stem the losses to just under five percent and reached the 20 euro mark again in the meantime. The February low was 14.92 euros. In mid-May, Delivery Hero's share price was still above 32 euros, benefiting from the successful sale of the Foodpanda business in Taiwan and the acquisition of a stake in Delivery Hero by US mobility giant Uber.

The biggest problem for the market is unlikely to be the size of the fine or how the food delivery company can absorb it, believes Giles Thorne from analyst firm Jefferies. Delivery Hero has sufficient cash at its disposal. The fine could rather be a model for other cases. The expert welcomes the immediate measures taken by Delivery Hero. It is positive that the management has directly disclosed the potential fine.

An outflow of around 400 million euros would not jeopardize refinancing in the short term, wrote analyst Marcus Diebel from JPMorgan. However, the legal risks and the associated cash outflows are likely to contribute to continued high fluctuations in the share price. UBS analyst Jo Barnet-Lamb also remained positive. The Group's balance sheet remains solid, "even without taking into account the potential proceeds of USD 950 million from the Taiwanese business".

And the experts at Bryan Garnier state: "Even assuming an EU fine of around €400 million in relation to this case, as well as an additional Spanish fine of €300 million in relation to Spanish subsidiary Glovo's practices in dealing with ride-sharing drivers, Delivery Hero would still be able to meet its maturities while complying with the agreement of a minimum required cash balance of €800 million." At the same time, they emphasized that both are currently still unconfirmed.

The proceedings initiated by the EU Commission concern allegations of anti-competitive agreements on the division of national markets, the exchange of commercially sensitive information and the imposition of non-solicitation clauses. The authority carried out unannounced searches at Delivery Hero and other companies in the sector in July 2022 and November 2023./nas/he/mis