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Coca-Cola In EU Antitrust Crosshairs

By Dayeeta Das
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Coca-Cola In EU Antitrust Crosshairs

EU antitrust regulators have launched a preliminary investigation into Coca-Cola Co, the European Commission said on Friday.

"We can confirm that the Commission has sent out questionnaires, as part of its preliminary investigation into Coca-Cola," a Commission spokeswoman said.

"The preliminary investigation is ongoing. We cannot comment on or predict its timing or outcome," she said, declining to provide further details.

Formal Request

Coca-Cola said it received a formal request for information on Thursday.

"While we will co-operate fully with the Commission, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further while the process is on-going. We abide by European competition law, as well as all other applicable laws and regulation," a Coca-Cola spokesman said.

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Lobbying group EuroCommerce, whose members include Carrefour, Ikea, Metro and Tesco, said the sales practices of some large multinational brands were a concern to retailers and wholesalers.

"We have for many years pointed to the problems our sector faces with the makers of 'must-have' products using their market power to impose unilateral conditions and limit competition to their advantage," EuroCommerce director-general Christian Verschueren said in a statement.

German media Lebensmittelzeitung was the first to report about the EU investigation.

Quarterly Report

In April, Coca-Cola beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue, fuelled by strong demand for its beverages from the gradual reopening of restaurants and cinema theatres following accelerated vaccine rollouts.

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Net revenue rose to $9.02 billion in the first quarter, from $8.60 billion a year earlier, above analysts' average estimate of $8.63 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. For more A-Brands stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

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