Mondelēz has been fined €337.5 million by the European Union antitrust regulators for impeding cross-border trading between EU Countries.
The sanction by the European Commission continues its crackdown on companies imposing territorial supply constraints on distributors and retailers.
The Commission said the Oreo and Cadbury chocolate maker engaged in anti-competitive deals.
It added that the company had abused its dominant position in the market in breach of EU antitrust laws.
After Mondelēz acknowledged its wrongdoing, the fine was reduced by 15%.
‘Uphold Fundamental Freedoms’
The EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a press conference, “We are determined to uphold fundamental freedoms in the European Union and to ensure that European citizens have access to the biggest variety at the lowest prices that the market can offer.”
Mondelēz said that the EU case focused on historical, isolated incidents, most of which were stopped or remedied in advance of the Commission’s investigation.
A spokesperson for the company said, “This historical matter is not representative of who we are and the strong culture of compliance for which we strive.”
The Commission said that Mondelēz limited the territories or customers to which seven wholesale customers could resell its products between 2012 and 2019.
It also said the company prevented ten exclusive distributors in some EU countries from replying to sale requests from customers in other EU countries from 2006 to 2020.
The Commission added that, between 2015 and 2019, the company refused to supply a broker in Germany to prevent the resale of chocolate tablet products in four regions where prices were higher.
It added that Mondelēz also stopped the supply of such products to the Netherlands to prevent their import to Belgium.
Read More: Mondelēz To Be Fined By EU For Blocking Cross-Border Sales
