EU antitrust regulators scrap investigation into Coca-Cola, bottlers

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday scrapped an investigation into potential anti-competitive practices by The Coca-Cola Co and its bottlers, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Coca-Cola Hellenic, citing insufficient ground for the case.

The European Commission said it had started a preliminary investigation on concerns that the three companies could have abused their dominance by granting conditional rebates to retailers in some EU countries in order to block the entry of new drinks into the market.

It subsequently collected information from Coca-Cola and its bottlers, retailers and competitors.

"Based on the evidence collected, the Commission has concluded that there is insufficient ground to further pursue the investigation," the EU competition enforcer said in a statement.

"The closure of the investigation is not a finding that the conduct in question complies with EU competition rules," it said.

(This story has been refiled to correct the company's name in the headline)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens)