Heineken ordered to pay €111.2m in Greek beer-market case

The Amsterdam District Court has ordered Heineken and its Greek subsidiary Athenian Brewery to pay Macedonian Thrace Brewery €111.224 million over competition-law violations on Greece’s beer market. The award comprises €43.337 million in damages and €67.887 million in interest calculated to 1 October 2026, with further interest due after that date.

The court found the companies jointly and severally liable for harm caused by Athenian Brewery’s abuse of its dominant position from 1998 to 2014. It had earlier ruled that Heineken exercised decisive influence over the Greek brewer, making it liable alongside its subsidiary.

The dispute followed a finding by Greece’s competition authority that Athenian Brewery had abused its position to exclude competitors. The Amsterdam court said the authority’s finding was binding in the damages case. Heineken and Athenian Brewery contested Macedonian Thrace Brewery’s claim and challenged the way it calculated its losses.

The court largely accepted the brewery’s calculation of lost profits but adjusted it to account for Greek excise-tax increases that were not caused by the competition breach. It also awarded €800,000 in expert costs, less than the amount sought, and €40,916.31 in legal costs. The ruling is provisionally enforceable.