Heineken Ordered to Pay Greek Beer Rival $125 Million in Damages

Heineken Tennis Theme Series Event on Oct. 6 in Shanghai, China. (Photo: Costfoto/NurPhoto via AP)

Heineken has been ordered by a Dutch court to pay €111 million ($125 million) in damages and interest to Greek brewer Macedonian Thrace Brewery over anticompetitive conduct in Greece, though the Dutch beer giant plans to appeal, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The ruling stems from conduct by Heineken’s Greek subsidiary, Athenian Brewery, in the country’s beer market between 1998 and 2014. The award includes €43 million ($48 million) in damages and €68 ($76 million) million in accrued interest.

Greece’s competition watchdog fined Athenian Brewery €31.5 million ($35.4 million) in 2015 for abusing its dominant market position in beer production and distribution. The penalty was later reduced to €26.7 million by the Athens Administrative Court of Appeal in 2017.

Heineken said it disagreed with the Dutch court’s reasoning and challenged the amount awarded to Macedonian Thrace Brewery, also known as MTB.

The company argued that MTB’s damages claim was unrealistic and that the court relied on assumptions about the rival’s potential sales, pricing and profitability in a hypothetical scenario.

“Those assumptions should be carefully tested against the available economic evidence and market developments during the relevant period,” Heineken said. “We do not believe the damages awarded adequately reflect those considerations.”

MTB welcomed the ruling.

“Justice has been served,” the company said in a statement, according to Reuters.

MTB Director of Business Development Demetri Chriss said the judgment was a major step toward holding Heineken accountable for the harm his company says it suffered.

“For nearly three decades Heineken has done everything in its power to avoid being held accountable for the damage it has caused MTB, but the Amsterdam District Court’s judgment goes a long way in setting the record straight,” Chriss said, calling the ruling “one of the most significant milestones in MTB’s history.”

Heineken said it would appeal the decision.