In the 204th Ordinary Trial Session, Cade’s Tribunal decided by majority to maintain the precautionary measure, imposed by Reporting Commissioner Gustavo Augusto against Ambev and Heineken, regarding exclusionary practices.
The proceeding originated from Heineken’s complaint of Ambev’s abuse of dominant position in the beer commercialization market to points of sale, which are considered as commercial establishments where beer is purchased for immediate consumption. The reported abuse would stem from the imposition of exclusivity contracts with those points of sale, which would reinforce Ambev’s position as leader in the market. When analyzing the information presented in the case, the Reporting Commissioner applied a precautionary measure to restrict the exclusionary practices of both companies in a single vote.
The Tribunal analyzed both Ambev’s and Heineken’s appeals against the decision in the aforementioned trial session. The Tribunal’s majority decided to maintain the Reporting Commissioner’s decision, determining that Ambev could not sign new contracts or renew any with exclusivity clauses with points of sale in specific neighborhoods of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasília until the end of the investigation. The renewal or signing of new contracts was also limited until December 31, 2022 to observe the Quatar World Cup in the cities of Maceió, Salvador, Fortaleza, Recife, Campinas, Lauro de Freitas, and Campos do Jordão.
The Tribunal also put limitations on Ambev, so that a maximum of 20% of their contracts would contain exclusivity clauses; this came limitation was also imposed on Heineken. To measure this standard, the Tribunal determined that Ambev, Heineken, and Cervejaria Petrópolis needed to present a list of the points of sale with which they maintain exclusivity contracts, divided by territory (states, cities, and neighborhoods, depending on each case).
