French Anti-Trust Authority Fines Detergent Makers Combined EUR361 Million
08 Dezember 2011 - 11:22AM
Dow Jones News
The French anti-trust authority has fined laundry detergent
makers a combined EUR361 million after finding they had formed a
cartel between 1997 and 2004 to coordinate prices to French
retailers.
The four largest laundry detergent makers on French
market--Amsterdam-listed Unilever (UNA.AE), Germany-based Henkel AG
& Co KGaA (HENKY) and U.S giants Colgate Palmolive Co. (CL) and
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG)--agreed to coordinate their
commercial strategy on all their products during the seven-year
period, albeit with an interruption between October 1998 and
November 1999, the watchdog said in a statement Thursday.
"Between 1997 and 2004, the four companies met secretly several
times a year in hotels and restaurants to discuss the price and
discount strategies," the statement said. The companies would agree
on the prices offered to supermarkets and other retailers in France
with the purpose to limit the competition on their market and the
agreement involved all the main brands on the French market, the
watchdog said.
The anti-trust authority waived the fine on Unilever after its
officials collaborated with the investigation and provided crucial
information, the statement said.
The French anti-trust watchdog established different amounts for
the fines taking into account the seriousness of the fact, the
damages caused to the country's economy, the individual situation
of each company and its world size and the aid each provided to the
investigation.
Procter & Gamble was fined EUR233.6 million, Henkel was
fined EUR92.3 million and Colgate Palmolive was fined EUR35.4
million.
-By Inti Landauro, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 4017 1740;
inti.landauro@dowjones.com
Unilever NV (NYSE:UN)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jun 2024 bis Jul 2024
Unilever NV (NYSE:UN)
Historical Stock Chart
Von Jul 2023 bis Jul 2024
Echtzeit-Nachrichten über Unilever NV (New York Börse): 0 Nachrichtenartikel
Weitere Unilever N.V. ADS News-Artikel