COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Danish brewer Carlsberg has reached a settlement with German authorities and agreed to pay a 50 million-euro ($55 million) fine over the alleged formation of a cartel more than a decade ago.
It said it refuted the allegations but had settled in order to focus on its core business of brewing beer.
“We confirm that Carlsberg Deutschland Holding GmbH has reached a settlement in this case, which has been ongoing for 11 years and required an enormous amount of time and financial resources,” Carlsberg’s head of communications, Tanja Frederiksen, said in a statement.
“We still strongly disagree with the charges and maintain our innocence, but we have taken this decision in order to be able to fully focus again on the future of Carlsberg Deutschland Holding GmbH,” Frederiksen said.
The case was concluded on Tuesday at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, Carlsberg said. German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported the news on Tuesday.
($1 = 0.9063 euros)
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(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; editing by Barbara Lewis)