JOHANNESBURG - Heineken Beverages is under pressure after the Competition Commission said it is in apparent breach of the conditions attached to a 2023 merger.
The owners of Strongbow cider said they have been disadvantaged by Heineken's efforts to push the Hunters and Savanna brands.
Heineken merged with local company Distell in 2023.
But the Competition Commission only approved the sale on condition that Heineken sell the licence to sell Strongbow to a black-owned firm called Cider House Investments.
That was to prevent all three cider brands - Hunters, Savannah and Strongbow - remaining under one company.
Cider House complained last year that Heineken broke the conditions of the deal by undermining Strongbow before the deal was completed.
It said this was due to the way Strongbow was priced, marketed and given limited access to retail fridge space.