Eleven breweries operating in Germany are being investigated by
authorities over allegations they held talks to fix beer prices,
the German cartel office confirmed Tuesday.
The president of Germany's Federal Cartel Office, Andreas Mundt,
didn't disclose the names of the companies under investigation.
The cartel office suspects brewers of holding talks to fix beer
prices in Germany for years, a person close to the investigation
told The Wall Street Journal.
The person close to the investigation told The Wall Street
Journal that German brewers Veltins, Krombacher, Warsteiner as well
as multinational Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ABI.BT, BUD) and at least
seven other brewers are being scrutinized by the cartel office.
Representatives for Veltins, Krombacher and Warsteiner when
contacted by The Wall Street Journal confirmed the companies are
being investigated.
A spokesman for AB InBev, the world's largest brewer by sales,
said the company is an object of the investigation. The spokesman
said AB InBev had approached the antitrust authority. The spokesman
said AB InBev was hoping to take advantage of the antitrust
authority's witness-protection rule, which buffers companies from
the legal penalties of price-fixing if they are the first to step
forward--and their information is of material benefit to the legal
probe.
Others being investigated include Bitburger, Radeberger and
Danish brewer Carlsberg AS (CARL-A.KO, CABGY), the person familiar
with the investigation said. These three companies declined to
comment when contacted by The Wall Street Journal.
The investigation comes at a sensitive time for the German beer
industry. Consumption has been declining steadily since the 1980s.
The German breweries' association said sales plunged by around 1.2
billion euros ($1.6 billion) between 2000 and 2012, when sales were
EUR7.95 billion.
The cartel office aims to complete the investigation this year
and could issue penalties of up to 10% of a company's annual sales,
the person familiar with the investigation added.
Write to Hendrik Varnholt at hendrik.varnholt@dowjones.com
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