|
In
their letter, the lawmakers said the deal would give Uber and
Grubhub 48 percent of the U.S. market, while Doordash would have
42 percent. A merged Uber Eats and Grubhub would have 79 percent
of the market in New York, 68 percent in Boston, 65 percent in
Miami, 60 percent in Chicago and 51 percent in Atlanta.
"We have been hearing about the exorbitant fees that these
online delivery app companies charge to restaurants, which are
then forced to pass these excessive costs on to consumers," the
lawmakers wrote. "It is particularly troubling that this merger
is being contemplated during a pandemic, when consumer demand
has increased and when restaurants are more desperate for
revenue than ever."
News broke on May 12 that Uber had approached Grubhub with an
offer for an all-stock deal. Uber did not immediately respond to
a request for comment on the letter.
The letter from Klobuchar, the top Democrat on the Senate
Judiciary Committee's antitrust panel, as well as Senators
Patrick Leahy, Richard Blumenthal and Cory Booker was addressed
to Makan Delrahim, head of the Justice Department Antitrust
Division and Joseph Simons, head of the Federal Trade
Commission. The two agencies ensure that mergers comply with
antitrust law.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by David Gregorio)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
