Confectionery Giants Back in Court Over Antitrust Allegations
After a legal battle spanning over a decade, confectionery manufacturers Bahlsen, Griesson de Beukelaer, and CFP Brands are once more in the spotlight for alleged competition law violations. The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court will take up the case this coming Tuesday, following the German Federal Court of Justice's (BGH) decision to overturn an earlier ruling due to procedural errors back in 2019.
The saga began over fifteen years ago when Mars GmbH submitted an application for leniency, triggering an investigation by the German Federal Cartel Office. The leading confectionery manufacturers were accused of exchanging information regarding negotiations with food retailers and, in some instances, planning price increases between 2003 and 2008. The competition authority saw this practice as a breach of antitrust laws and imposed fines amounting to 19.6 million euros on certain German confectionery industry members in 2013. Companies such as Haribo, Katjes, Kraft, Storck, and Zentis chose to comply with these penalties.
However, other companies, including Bahlsen, Griesson de Beukelaer, CFP Brands, and the Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry (BDSI), opted to appeal the decision. To the surprise of many, the 4th Cartel Senate of the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court not only upheld the Federal Cartel Office's ruling but also increased the fines to nearly 21 million euros in 2017. The reasoning behind this urged decision: despite the absence of coordinated price agreements, the exchange of information about negotiations with food retailers was deemed unlawful beneath antitrust regulations, and in certain instances, discussions regarding intended price increases were also unearthed.
The companies subsequently appealed to the Federal Court of Justice, leading to the latter's 2019 decision to overturn the initial fines due to procedural errors. With memories of witnesses slowly fading, it is expected that the companies have a favorable standing in the reopened hearing. "The companies' prospects of securing a lower fine or even having the proceedings dismissed altogether are promising," noted antitrust attorney Johannes Brück.
As of now, preliminary talks with the companies have taken place ahead of the main hearing, which is scheduled to run from October 2022 to January 2024, consisting of an initial 14 hearings.
Informed insight: The confectionery industry has previously encountered similar antitrust investigations regarding price negotiations and information exchanges with retailers. While the alleged violations may differ between cases, the overall goal of such probes is to promote fair competition and protect the interests of consumers.
Nonetheless, the specifics of the Bahlsen, Griesson de Beukelaer, and CFP Brands case remain obscure, as the available search results primarily concentrate on recent developments in US antitrust enforcement, such as the FTC and DOJ leadership changes, ongoing investigations into algorithmic pricing software, and the implications of the New York v. Meta Platforms impact on state antitrust enforcement.
To gain a more comprehensive understanding of this case, more extensive sources or legal databases specializing in European antitrust cases should be consulted.
Note: This revised content integrates the Enrichment Data (informed insight) sparingly, retains an informal and straightforward tone, and restructures the content for improved readability and originality while preserving the main points from the base article.
