The tribunal will reassess the case after overturning the closure decision.
The Tribunal of Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) will review a decision by the agency's Superintendence to close an investigation into allegations that 99Food abused its dominant position by imposing exclusivity clauses on restaurants.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Keeta, which accused its competitor of undermining competition in the food delivery app market.
The step was taken by CADE interim President Diogo Thomson de Andrade through a process known as avocation, in which the Tribunal assumes responsibility for reviewing a decision made by the authority’s investigative arm. The Superintendence closed the case on June 26. Andrade invoked avocation on Wednesday.
Andrade questioned the Superintendence’s decision to terminate the probe, formally known as an administrative inquiry, before the conclusion of a lawsuit in the São Paulo courts. He said that the move appears to contradict the authority’s earlier position when assessing Keeta’s request for a preventive measure, an interim injunction aimed at preventing immediate harm, to competition, against 99Food.
CADE’s interim president said that the Superintendence did not reach out to restaurants to gather information. 99Food told the watchdog’s investigative body that it entered into contracts with major brands, such as Burger King, Starbucks, Subway and others.
“The avocation is justified by the need for the Tribunal to take a closer look at issues related to the decision to suspend Keeta's request for preventive measures and subsequently close the administrative inquiry before resolving the matter that had led to the suspension of the injunction request,”
Andrade said.
Additionally, he said, it is essential to assess “whether the investigation carried out by CADE's Superintendence was sufficient to dispel the competition concerns it had initially identified, particularly given the characteristics of the conduct under investigation and the significant changes underway in the multi-sided digital market for app-based food delivery services.”
Market specifics
Andrade said that the food delivery app market is multi-sided and that the Tribunal must therefore evaluate whether the body of evidence gathered by the Superintendence is sufficient to justify closing the investigation.
CADE’s interim president said his request was not intended to suggest that the investigation had been incomplete, nor to prejudge whether the conduct under scrutiny caused harm to competition.
“The Tribunal should assess whether the evidence on the record is sufficient to justify closing the investigation or whether additional investigative steps could provide a fuller understanding of the competitive dynamics underlying the conduct at issue.”
CADE’s Superintendence concluded that 99Food lacks the market power to harm competition, finding that it holds less than 20 percent market share in both delivery orders and gross merchandise value. “Under both proxies, the market appears highly concentrated and dominated by iFood,” it said.
Keeta and 99Food are controlled by Chinese owners, with the former being part of Meituan’s portfolio and the latter belonging to Didi Chuxing. Keeta began operations in Brazil in the second half of 2025, while 99Food resumed activities around the same period.
iFood is by far the leading food delivery app in Brazil, accounting for nearly 80 percent market share. Keeta alleged that 99Food’s entry into the market was intended to form a duopoly between two firms, eliminating other competitors.
Source: MLex
