Price Fixing Conviction
On April 18, 2007 The European commission imposed fines on Heineken International of €219.3m, Grolsch of €31.65m and Bavaria of €22.85m for operating a price-fixing cartel in the Netherlands, totalling €273.7m. InBev, (formerly Interbrew), escaped without a penalty because it provided "decisive information" about the cartel which operated between 1996 and 1999 with others in the EU market. The brewers controlled 95% of the Dutch market, with Heineken claiming a half and the three others 15% each.
Neelie Kroes said she was "very disappointed" that the collusion took place at the very highest (boardroom) level. She added, Heineken, Grolsch, Bavaria and InBev tried to cover their tracks by using code names and abbreviations for secret meetings to carve up the market for beer sold to supermarkets, hotels, restaurants and cafes. The price fixing extended to cheaper own-brand labels and rebates for bars.
| “ | This is simply unacceptable: that major beer suppliers colluded to up prices and to carve up markets among themselves | ” |
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—EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes |
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Read more about this topic: Grolsch Brewery
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