Germany’s cartel authority Bundeskartellamt has announced that it has imposed fines totaling around €646 million on Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG and voestalpine Grobblech GmbH as well as on three individuals responsible for exchanging information on and agreeing certain price supplements and surcharges for quarto plates in Germany.
The illegal agreement was practiced from mid-2002 until June 2016. Dillinger Hüttenwerke, a public limited company which also participated in the agreement, was the first company to cooperate with the Bundeskartellamt and so was granted full immunity from fines.
The companies admitted to the accusations made by the Bundeskartellamt and agreed to a settlement. This was taken into account by the Bundeskartellamt when calculating the fines. Voestalpine Grobblech GmbH also cooperated with the Bundeskartellamt in the course of the proceeding, which was also taken into consideration when setting the fine.