The Canadian Competition Bureau has cleared the country’s two biggest brewers of any anti-competitive behaviour, after a detailed analysis that has lasted almost three years.
The Bureau said that the practices of Molson and Labatt Brewing “did not substantially lessen or prevent competition” in Quebec’s beer industry.
It concluded that: “The evidence collected, reflecting the market conditions both during the period studied and currently, does not support the argument that these contracting practices substantially harm or will harm competition.”
An investigation was launched after microbrewers alleged that the two giants were engaging in anticompetitive practices.
But the Bureau did note that Labatt and Molson control nearly 90% of beer sales and that some customers are bound by “potentially anticompetitive contract clauses” that, as the market evolves, could raise concerns under the Competition Act.
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By GlobalDataIn a statement Molson said: “The ruling handed down by the Bureau confirms what Molson has always advocated, namely that the brewing industry is highly competitive and that Molson’s practices have no adverse impact on the competition.”
