Prosus NV’s Brazilian delivery unit, iFood, has submitted a formal antitrust complaint to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), accusing Chinese rival Meituan of engaging in anti-competitive pricing strategies to squeeze out local competition. (Bloomberg)
The core of the dispute centers on the operational economics of Keeta, Meituan’s international delivery arm. In documents filed with the South American nation’s antitrust authority, iFood requested an official investigation into the financial structure and unit economics driving Keeta’s aggressive expansion across the region.
Keeta expanded into Brazil’s wealthiest city, São Paulo, almost a year ago as part of a targeted push to capture market share in South America’s largest food delivery sector. Since entering the market, the platform has relied on deep discounts and heavy promotional pricing to attract consumers away from established local players.
According to iFood’s filing, Meituan’s strategy relies on artificially low prices designed to undermine competition rather than standard market rivalry. By offering heavily subsidized delivery rates and sustained customer price cuts, Keeta is accused of deploying capital-intensive tactics that impair the ability of other platforms to compete on an equal footing.
The complaint signals intensifying regulatory scrutiny in Brazil’s food delivery landscape, where rapid market entry by heavily funded foreign platforms has triggered heightened friction over pricing practices, market concentration, and fair competition standards. Neither antitrust regulators nor Meituan have issued final rulings regarding the allegations as CADE reviews the submission.
