Edenred's thud in Paris with Agcm investigation for abuse of dominant position

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Endered's thud on the Paris Stock Exchange, under the weight of the investigation launched by the Italian Antitrust Authority for an alleged abuse of a dominant position. The AGCM announced that it had opened an investigation against Edenred Italia and its parent company Edenred SE for an allegedabuse of dominant position in the national market for the provision of canteen replacement services through meal vouchers. The stock lost more than 17 per cent.

According to the Authority, after the introduction of the regulatory limit on the commissions applicable by the companies issuing vouchers to the affiliated retailers for the reimbursement of meal vouchers, Edenred allegedly implemented a complex strategy to transfercompletely unjustified charges onto the operators of large-scale distribution. In particular, Edenred is alleged to have unilaterally imposed a reorganisation of the way in which electronic meal vouchers are accepted, eliminating the direct integration between the cash systems of large-scale retail outlets and its own authorisation platforms, requiring the use of indirect interconnection systems provided by third-party providers and thereby increasing the costs for large-scale retail outlets. Edenred also allegedly imposed other penalising conditions such as, for example, a longer timeframe for the reimbursement of meal vouchers. The greater operational complexity and increased costs for large-scale distribution may be reflected in higher charges for consumers and affect the proper functioning of the market, the Authority points out. In addition," the Agcm communication states, "yesterday the Authority's officials, with the help of the special Antitrust Unit of the Guardia di Finanza, carried out inspections at the offices of Edenred Italia, as well as at the offices of the other main meal voucher issuing companies and some providers, which were considered to have useful elements for the investigation.

The French group indicated in a statement that it had been informed by the Italian Antitrust Authority that an investigation had been launched against its Italian subsidiary following a complaint filed by a number of large-scale retail operators. "Edenred cannot comment on the ongoing investigation and is of course at the disposal of the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza del Mercato to provide all clarifications necessary to ensure a correct understanding of the services offered to the large-scale retail sector in Italia," reads the statement, which also specifies that "in full compliance with the Italian regulations on meal vouchers, in particular the conditions imposed by the law of 16 December 2024, Edenred trusts in the outcome of this investigation."