By Helena Smolak
Shares in Edenred and Sodexo rose after France’s competition regulator opposed a proposal to introduce caps on commissions the meal-voucher issuers charge on restaurants.
At 1247 GMT, Edenred shares were 2.8% higher at EUR54.54, and Sodexo shares were 2% higher at EUR99.44.
Shares in the two companies had dropped after France’s minister for small and medium-sized enterprises, Olivia Gregoire, ordered an antitrust review into commission rates in the meal voucher market earlier this month.
The French competition authority said Tuesday that introducing a cap on the commissions wasn’t the right response to correct what it called malfunctions in the meal-voucher market. It said the government’s priority should be to make digital vouchers compulsory and to give restaurants more negotiating power.
The antitrust authority gave its opinion after Gregoire asked for its views on how to appropriately regulate the meal-voucher market. Edenred and Sodexo didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The French competition authority’s proposal to the government to make digital meal-vouchers compulsory gives an opportunity for market-share gain for Edenred and Sodexo, Barclays analysts wrote in a research note.
However, separating the issuance and acceptance of meal vouchers by ending the companies’ exclusivity and enabling restaurants to choose an intermediary, as proposed by the authority, might pose long-term risks for the two companies, Barclays said. This could potentially reduce their take-up rates and increase costs, the analysts said.
Write to Helena Smolak at [email protected]
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