Drinks buyers were allegedly threatened that beer would no longer be sold to them if they did not also buy other drinks from them – this is one of the violations committed by the Brau Union, which the Federal Competition Authority has complained about. The cartel watchdogs submitted a fine application. However, the amount of the punishment will take a long time to come.
The Federal Competition Authority submits a request to impose an appropriate fine and put an end to violations of the ban on abuse and cartels against Brau Union – this was the message that the cartel watchdogs published a week ago on Tuesday.
Brau Union spoke of a “fundamental misunderstanding”
Austria’s largest brewing company is alleged to have abused its dominant market position to restrict the entry of competing beer producers into the market and drive existing beverage retailers out of the market. The Linz-based Heineken subsidiary then spoke of a “fundamental misunderstanding”.
But the ball is now in the cartel’s court. There, a decision must be made on the application for the fine and an amount must be determined. By when can a decision be expected? The cartel court has no deadline here, it is said.
Turnover in 2022 amounted to 850 million euros
Above all, the authority has to sift through a lot of material: the Federal Competition Authority’s application is approximately 240 pages long. The fine can amount to 10% of the group turnover of the previous year, amounting to millions. Brau Union’s turnover in 2022 amounted to 850 million euros.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
