Cade Dismisses Keeta's Antitrust Case Against 99Food

Brazil’s antitrust authority, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), has recommended archiving an administrative investigation into food delivery platform 99Food. The probe, triggered by a complaint from rival platform Keeta—a subsidiary of China's Meituan—accused 99Food of abusing its market position through restrictive exclusivity clauses. The decision by Cade’s Superintendency-General solidifies the competitive landscape for major delivery platforms, easing immediate regulatory risks for 99Food while raising barriers for Keeta's expansion in Brazil.

The regulator ruled that 99Food, owned by China’s DiDi Global, holds less than a 20% market share in São Paulo, legally dismissing the presumption of dominant position abuse. According to Cade, there is no strong indication that 99Food possesses sufficient market power to unilaterally alter competitive conditions. The ruling emphasizes that iFood remains the absolute market leader, while 99Food is a smaller player attempting to scale its operations.

Keeta had contested 99Food's "banishment clauses," alleging that the platform used financial incentives and contractual penalties to prevent partner restaurants from working with rivals like Keeta and Rappi. Following the antitrust watchdog's decision, Keeta announced it will appeal the dismissal. The company stated that the case is not over, as the appeal will now go before the Cade Tribunal, the agency's maximum deciding body, for a final ruling.

The decision has drawn criticism from the Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants (Abrasel), which warned that dismissing the exclusivity case could foster a duopoly dominated by iFood and 99Food. Brazilian market participants are closely monitoring the developments, as the outcome continues to shape the food delivery war and influence broader sentiment across the IBOV and USD/BRL currency dynamics.