European antitrust regulators have reportedly scrapped an investigation into Coca-Cola Company ( NYSE: KO ), as well as bottlers Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC ( CCEP ) and Coca-Cola HBC ( OTCPK:CCHGY ).
The European Commission had started a preliminary antitrust investigation due to concerns the three companies granted conditional rebates to retailers in some EU countries in order to block the entry of new drinks into the market.
Since then, the European Commission gathered enough information from Coca-Cola, bottlers, and retailers to conclude that there is insufficient ground to further pursue the investigation.
"The closure of the investigation is not a finding that the conduct in question complies with EU competition rules," read a statement from the European Commission.
Shares of KO fell 0.42% in afternoon trading on Tuesday, while CCEP was down 1.18% and CCHGY was up 0.20% .
Compare growth, valuation, and profitability metrics on Coca-Cola Co ( KO ), as well as bottlers Coca-Cola Europacific Partners ( CCEP ) and Coca-Cola Hellenic ( OTCPK:CCHGY )
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Coca-Cola and bottlers escape regulatory probe in Europe