Cade Dismisses 99Food Case, but Keeta Appeal Threatens Duopoly
Cade's technical unit archived the 99Food antitrust probe, but Meituan's Keeta appealed to the full Tribunal, keeping Brazil's delivery war alive.
The Superintendency-General of Brazil’s antitrust regulator, Cade, has archived an administrative inquiry into Didi-owned 99Food over alleged anticompetitive "banishment clauses". The investigation, sparked by a complaint from Keeta—the international delivery arm of Chinese tech giant Meituan—accused 99Food of using exclusivity contracts to block new market entrants and rivals like Rappi. While the technical body cleared 99Food citing insufficient evidence of economic harm, the legal battle remains active.
Keeta has officially appealed the decision to Cade’s full Tribunal, preventing a final resolution and keeping the high-stakes dispute open. The appeal directly impacts the competitive landscape of Brazil's food delivery sector, where Keeta has been aggressively deploying capital to challenge established players. In São Paulo, the only city where all three major apps currently compete, market leader iFood commands 60% of the market share, followed by 99Food at 30% and Keeta at approximately 10%.
Industry representatives warn that archiving the case could lead to severe market consolidation. Paulo Solmucci, president of the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants (Abrasel), criticized the regulator's decision, warning that allowing these exclusivity agreements to stand will ultimately solidify a tight duopoly between iFood and 99Food. This regulatory friction unfolds as Brazilian financial markets monitor broader economic indicators, with the Ibovespa (IBOV) tracking corporate developments alongside local currency markets, where BTC/BRL is trading at 309,164 and ETH/BRL stands at 8,128.95.