MILAN, April 15 (Reuters) – Nutella maker Ferrero said on Wednesday it is aware that European Commission officials are currently carrying out on-site inspections at its offices, following reports that the commission was conducting investigations into antitrust practices.
“The company is fully cooperating and providing the information requested,” the company, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, said in a statement in response to a request from Reuters.
Earlier this week the European Commission said it had raided the premises of an unnamed chocolate confectionery company over a suspected violation of antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and anti-competitive practices.
The EU Commission said it was investigating “possible market segmentation in the form of restrictions on the trade of goods between member states in the single market and obstacles to multi-country purchases”.
European retailers have long accused big consumer brands of anticompetitive practices like maintaining price differences between EU member countries and making it difficult for supermarkets to buy a branded good in bulk and sell across the whole bloc – practices called “territorial supply constraints”.
In a statement on Wednesday after the investigation was announced but before Ferrero was revealed to be the target, retail association Eurocommerce said it supported the European Commission in taking action against such practices.
Bloomberg first reported that Ferrero was the company involved.
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin, additional reporting by Helen Reid, editing by Cristina Carlevaro and Jan Harvey)
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