McDonald's faces Italian antitrust probe into franchise terms

The watchdog said a series of pervasive and binding clauses on prices, promotions, stocks, supplies and purchases, financial management, among others, could be seen as elements of abusive conduct

Italy's antitrust authority AGCM will investigate McDonald's terms and conditions in its agreements with franchise operators following several complaints, according to an AGCM document seen by Reuters.

The AGCM move could put the U.S. fast-food chain at risk of a fine of as much as 10% of its global turnover if it is found guilty of breaching Italian antitrust rules.

The AGCM declined to comment. McDonald's Italy said it was "certain of the correctness of our work" and open to collaborating with the agency. The group made $19.2 billion in revenues in 2020.

The Italian competition watchdog said that based on the available