The European Commission issues largest-ever cartel fine
European Commission has issued the first cartel fine of over €1 billion, fining four glass manufacturers more than €1.3 billion for participating in a cartel for car glass used in car windscreens, sidelights, backlights and sunroofs. Saint-Gobain alone was fined €896 million, the Commission’s largest individual fine, reflecting a 60% uplift for repeat offending. In contrast, Asahi’s fine was reduced by 50% as it provided information that assisted the Commission’s investigation, in line with the Commission’s Leniency Notice.
The Commission found that Asahi, Pilkington, Saint-Gobain and Soliver engaged in market sharing and exchanged commercially sensitive information regarding deliveries of car glass in the EEA, breaching the EC Treaty’s and EEA Agreement’s ban on anti-competitive agreements. Specifically, that between 1998 and early 2003 the companies held a series of meetings in which they discussed the allocation of supplies of car glass for new car models, target prices and market sharing.
The four companies supplied 90% of the glass used in the EEA for new cars and in the last year of the infringement the Commission estimates the market was worth €2 billion. The investigation was launched following an anonymous tip-off to the Commission
It is anticipated that each of these companies will now face actions for damages in national courts by companies that consider they have suffered losses as a result of the cartel.
This is the seventh cartel decision to date in 2008, bringing the 2008 fining total to EUR 2.268 billion.
Please click here for the European Commission’s press release.
