Bird & Bird’s Budapest Competition team has achieved a significant victory for Heineken in a high-profile competition law matter, successfully securing the client’s full vindication before the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) and the Hungarian courts, including at the highest judicial level.
The proceedings stemmed from allegations that Heineken had breached Section 7/B of the Hungarian Trade Act by applying contractual terms with a HoReCa outlet that allegedly led to the outlet sourcing more than 80% of its beer purchases from Heineken. Following an extensive investigation launched by the GVH in 2021 (VJ/51/2021), the authority issued a decision finding an infringement of the statutory prohibition on exclusive supply arrangements.
Working closely with Heineken throughout the entire process, Bird & Bird provided strategic legal support during both the regulatory investigation and the subsequent court proceedings. In a decisive first-instance judgment, the court annulled the GVH’s decision in full. When the authority sought further review before the Kúria, Hungary’s supreme court, Bird & Bird successfully defended the judgment, with the Kúria fully rejecting the GVH’s appeal and conclusively confirming the annulment of the authority’s decision.
The outcome provides important legal certainty for market participants in the HoReCa sector, particularly in relation to distribution structures and the assessment of alleged exclusivity arrangements. It also demonstrates Bird & Bird’s ability to guide clients through complex, multi-year regulatory investigations and litigation, delivering clear, commercially meaningful results even in the most challenging cases.
This success was driven by the commitment and collaboration of Bird & Bird’s multidisciplinary Hungarian team. The matter was led by Partner and Practice Head Dániel Arányi, supported by Senior Associate Gábor Kutai and Special Counsel László Zlatarov from the Competition team, working alongside the Dispute Resolution team led by Partner and Practice Head László Nyanyista, with Senior Associate Viktor Kodela, Associates Mátyás Schultheisz, Vivien Kovács and Junior Associate Marcell Fekete.
