Is McDonald's Facing A European Antitrust Complaint?

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has been slapped with an antitrust complaint from 3 Italian consumer groups. The publication noted that the complaint was filed with the European Union and accuses McDonald's of abusing its dominant market position and forcing franchisees to pay rent that exceeds actual market rates by a factor of up to 10. The 3 consumer groups stated in their complaint that "restrictive contract terms" that McDonald's imposed on them resulted in an "increased prospect of financial difficulties, poorer financial performance than competitors and higher probability of default" for franchisees." If McDonald's is found guilty of violating EU antitrust laws, the company faces a penalty of up to 10 percent of its global revenue. Meanwhile, the company told The Wall Street Journal it is confident that any inquiry will be resolved "favorably." Shares of McDonald's appear to be unaffected by the report and were trading slightly higher by 0.07 percent at $116.76 heading into Tuesday's afternoon trading session.