The Portuguese Competition Authority (PCA) confirms having sent a Statement of Objections to five subsidiaries of Groups EDP and SONAE for suspicion of having entered into an anticompetitive agreement within the partnership created for the implementation of the commercial campaign "Plano EDP Continente", held in 2012.

The alleged infringement regards the existence, in the partnership agreement, of a reciprocal non-compete pact, in the sectors of commercialization of electricity and natural gas and food retail, in Portugal mainland, for the duration of 2 years, which may, under certain circumstances, qualify as an unlawful market sharing agreement between the undertakings involved.

The Portuguese Competition Act explicitly forbids agreements between undertakings which, by having as their object the restriction of competition to a considerable extent, in the whole or in part of the domestic market, have, by their very nature, a high potential for negative effects, reducing consumers welfare and undermining companies´ competitiveness and the economy as a whole.

The PCA underlines that issuing a Statement of Objections does not prejudge the final outcome of the procedure. The addressees of a Statement of Objection have now the opportunity to exercise their rights of defence against the alleged infringement and possible applicable sanctions.

The Statement of Objections was adopted on 29 July, 2016.

04 August 2016