Brazil: Heineken denies report saying Coca-Cola Brasil filed lawsuit to annul its acquisition of Brasil Kirin

Heineken, the world's second largest brewer, denied on January 26 a Brazilian newspaper report, which said that Coca-Cola Brasil had filed a lawsuit seeking to annul Heineken's 2017 acquisition of Brasil Kirin.

The Valor Economico newspaper said that the filing in a Brazilian court accused the Dutch brewer of designing a sale contract for Brasil Kirin with the intention of breaking the distribution contract the company had with Coca Cola.

However, Heineken said it understood the lawsuit from Coca-Cola Brasil and Brazilian Coke bottlers was not threatening the acquisition, which made it the number two player in the country, the world's third-largest beer market.

Last October, an arbitration tribunal decided Heineken must keep distributing Brasil Kirin's products via the Coca-Cola network until March 2022, keeping the dates in the original contract. Heineken had wanted to sell its new and existing brands via its own distribution system.

Heineken said on January 26 it had become aware of the lawsuit through public sources, but believed the suit was not aimed at annulling its 2017 acquisition of Kirin's business in Japan.

Coca-Cola Brasil and the Brazilian Coke bottlers, it said, were seeking compensation for Heineken's plan to sell the portfolio of beers bought with the Kirin acquisition through its own distribution system.

The plaintiffs were challenging certain corporate actions of Heineken, but these actions did not impact the validity of its Brasil Kirin purchase. An arbitration tribunal had already addressed these issues, Heineken said.

Heineken also said the lawsuit did not change its operations in Brazil, including distribution of the former Kirin portfolio via Coke distributors.

Coca-Cola did not immediately comment on the matter.

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