THE COCA-COLA - COCA-COLA HELLENIC BOTTLING/FONTI DEL VULTURE
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
Antitrust opens inquiry into Coca Cola's purchase of Acque del Vulture
The Italian Competition Authority, at its meeting on 10 May 2006, decided to open an inquiry into the joint purchase of Fonti del Vulture, a company which extracts, bottles and sells mineral water, by COCA-COLA COMPANY and COCA-COLA HELLENIC BOTTLING COMPANY. The inquiry is to investigate whether this takeover may reinforce the dominant position held by Coca Cola in the national market for carbonated soft drinks. The addition of mineral water to the range of beverages distributed directly by Coca Cola to hotels, restaurants, pubs and entertainment venues such as cinemas, discotheques and theme parks in northern and central Italy, may give Coca Cola, which already enjoys a dominant position, an important competitive advantage over its competitors, both in acquiring new outlets and in the renewal of existing supply contracts. Judging from documentation furnished to the Authority by competitors, the Coca Cola name could also lead to increased sales of the purchased brands of water, giving them a much larger market share than they have today and pushing out smaller competitors.
The inquiry is to be completed by 24 June.
Rome, 16 May 2006