Finance
Luxembourg brewer loses fight against EU scrutiny of drink distributor deal
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 2, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 2, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Brasserie Nationale's acquisition of Boissons Heintz faces EU antitrust scrutiny. The EU General Court ruled against the brewer, emphasizing the importance of competition regulation.
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Luxembourg's largest brewery Brasserie Nationale on Wednesday lost its challenge against EU antitrust scrutiny of its proposed buy of wholesale drinks distributor Boissons Heintz as Europe's second-highest court sided with EU regulators.
The case underscores the growing trend among companies willing to fight EU review of deals that do not meet the EU revenue threshold, especially following U.S. gene sequencing company Illumina's landmark court win last year in its bid for cancer diagnostic test maker Grail.
Brasserie took its grievance to the General Court after the European Commission told it to seek EU approval for the deal because of the importance of drinks imports in Luxembourg even though the acquisition fell short of the revenue threshold that would trigger an EU review.
The EU competition enforcer issued the order to Brasserie at the request of the Luxembourg antitrust authority, which does not have merger rules. The brewer argued that the Luxembourg request to the EU came too late.
The Luxembourg-based General Court backed the EU antitrust enforcer's review of the deal.
"Since information limited to the mere existence of a concentration does not constitute 'making known' within the meaning of EU law, Brasserie Nationale and Munhowen have not shown that the request for referral had been submitted out of time," judges said.
Brasserie can appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union, Europe's highest.
Despite the ongoing litigation, Brasserie subsequently sought EU approval for the deal and has offered remedies to address competition concerns. The EU will decide by July 17 whether to clear the deal.
The case is T-289/24 Brasserie Nationale and Munhowen v Commission.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens)
Brasserie Nationale lost its challenge against the EU's antitrust scrutiny of its proposed acquisition of Boissons Heintz.
The EU competition enforcer issued the order at the request of the Luxembourg antitrust authority, citing the importance of drinks imports in Luxembourg.
Brasserie Nationale can appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is Europe's highest court.
Despite the ongoing litigation, Brasserie Nationale has sought EU approval for the deal and offered remedies to address competition concerns.
The EU is expected to decide by July 17 whether to clear the deal involving Brasserie Nationale and Boissons Heintz.
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