HEINEKEN ITALIA/BIRRA MORETTI (Conclusion of the investigation)
PRESS RELEASE
Given the commitments formally assumed by Heineken during the investigation started on May 22nd, 1996, the Italian Competition Authority has decided to authorize the acquisition by Heineken Italia of Birra Moretti, the Italian brewer from Interbrew of Belgium.
The proceeding was aimed at appraising eventual competitive restraints in the market for the production and distribution of beer, following this merger which will lead Heineken to increase its market share from 27% to 37%. Heineken, in order to overcome the objections made by the Authority on the likely creation of a dominant position, separately or in combination, undertakes to sale to a competitor, within a predefined date, a plant - among those which are based in Italy - whose productive capacity be not lower than 5% of the Italian market. The plant's acquirer will have to hold brands in the Italian beer market and, in addition, will have to be adequately financially resourced, in such a way as to behave as an effective competitor.
Since a stable presence on the territory, in the retail market, was one of the main instruments for the development of an effective competition, the possibility of acquiring a plant on behalf of a new operator or a present competitor, will be able to reduce substantially the risk of creating a dominant position. For this reason, on the basis of the commitments assumed by Heineken, the Authority decided not to oppose the acquisition.