Coca-Cola (KO) investigation scrapped by EU regulators - Reuters

An investigation into potentially anti-competitive practices by Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and bottlers, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Coca-Cola Hellenic, has been scrapped by The European Commission, according to a report by Reuters on Tuesday.

EU antitrust regulators are said to have cited insufficient ground for the case as the reason for ditching the investigation.

The regulator had initiated a preliminary investigation into the companies based on concerns they could have abused their dominance by giving conditional rebates to retailers in some countries in the EU to block new drinks from entering the market.

However, after collecting information from Coca-Cola, its bottlers, retailers, and competitors, they said in a statement that based on the evidence collected, they have concluded there is insufficient ground to further pursue the investigation.

"The closure of the investigation is not a finding that the conduct in question complies with EU competition rules," the EU competition enforcer added.

By Sam Boughedda

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