German antitrust authorities said on Monday that they had opened an investigation against several brewers over the suspected price fixing of beer.

The Federal Cartel Office “is investigating several breweries,” a spokeswoman for the office told AFP, confirming a report in Focus news weekly.

“As it’s a procedure that is still ongoing, we cannot give any more details,” she added.

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According to Focus magazine, the competition watchdog has been looking since last year into about a dozen brewers, who collectively share more than half of the German beer market.

The groups being investigated include AB-InBev, which produces the Beck’s label, Carlsberg, the Oetker group and family-owned groups such as Warsteiner and Krombacher, the magazine said.

The last two have confirmed they are being investigated.

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