Heineken ordered to pay €111 million in damages, interest to Greek rival

Heineken Must Pay €111 Million to Macedonian Thrace Brewery After Dutch Court Ruling

Heineken Faces Major Damages After Dutch Court Decision

Background of the Legal Dispute

AMSTERDAM, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Dutch beer company Heineken on Wednesday said a Dutch court had awarded Macedonian Thrace Brewery €111 million ($125 million) in damages and interest in a case it brought against Heineken's Greek subsidiary Athenian Brewery.

Heineken's Response and Appeal

Heineken said it disagreed with the reasoning of the court and would appeal the decision, which related to conduct by Athenian Brewery in the Greek beer market between 1998 and 2014.

Previous Fines and Competition Watchdog Actions

In 2015, the Greek competition watchdog had already fined Athenian Brewery €31.5 million for abuse of its dominant position in the production and distribution of beer.

Details of the Court Award

In a follow-up case, the Dutch court now awarded MTB €43 million in damages and €68 million in accrued interest.

Heineken's Criticism of the Ruling

Disputing the Damages Calculation

Heineken said that the damages claim made by MTB had not been realistic, and said the court had made assumptions about MTB's sales, pricing and profitability in a hypothetical scenario.

Heineken's Statement on Economic Evidence

"Those assumptions should be carefully tested against the available economic evidence and market developments during the relevant period," the brewer said.

"We do not believe the damages awarded adequately reflect those considerations."

Additional Information

($1 = 0.8910 euros)

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Emma Rumney; Editing by Jan Harvey and Tomasz Janowski)