2023-10-03 03:11:00
The Salzburg energy drink manufacturer Red Bull has been dismissed in court with a lawsuit in connection with a house search by the EU competition watchdog. Red Bull wanted to persuade the EU court in Luxembourg to suspend an EU antitrust law decision – but the request for an interim injunction was rejected. This can be found on the court’s website.
The European Commission searched company premises in March on suspicion of illegal agreements and violations of EU antitrust rules. Red Bull then challenged the raid, claiming that the allegations were unfounded and that EU competition watchdogs had not found sufficient evidence of anti-competitive behavior when they decided on the raid. “The Commission appears to have had insufficient evidence of anti-competitive behavior at the time of its decision to justify an investigation,” Red Bull said in its application to the Luxembourg court.
The beverage company also criticized the EU competition authority’s open-ended search of its Brussels offices as an “excessive interference” with the company’s rights, but did not get away with it.
The EU competition watchdog’s visit to Red Bull in March apparently had to do with the company’s market power. Red Bull is the number one energy drink in Europe, but faces competition from other manufacturers looking to gain market share.
According to a report by specialist service MLex, the allegations focused on Red Bull’s dealings with retailers and that the company may have sought to obtain favorable treatment for its own drinks at the expense of its competitors.
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