The Brazilian competition agency, Cade, has imposed a record fine of AUD$226 million on the brewing giant Ambev, a unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev. Cade has alleged AmBev restricted competition in the country’s beer market by supplying retailers with refrigerators that they were only allowed to use to store AmBev products.
The European Commission has imposed a fine of AUD$1.96 billion on Gaz de France and its subsidiary E.ON Ruhrgas for market sharing and restrictive business practices. The EC found that in 1975 when GDF and Ruhrgas jointly built the MEGAL pipeline across Germany to import Russian gas into Germany and France, they agreed not to sell gas transported over this pipeline in each other's home markets. This agreement was maintained until 2005, well after market liberalisation.
The EC has fined nine companies over AUD$106 million for operating an EU-wide cartel for calcium carbide powder, calcium carbide granulates and magnesium granulates, which are used in the production of steel. Akzo Nobel escaped any fine for its role in the cartel because it notified the EC of the existence of the cartel. Between 2004 and 2007 the companies fixed prices and shared markets throughout the EU for the chemicals, which have a combined market value of over AUD$304 million.
EC clears pharmaceutical merger between Pfizer and Wyeth
The EC has given conditional approval for the US global pharmaceutical company Pfizer to acquire the US pharmaceutical and healthcare company, Wyeth. Pfizer has agreed to divest a number of animal health care products in several European national markets to proceed with the transaction.
France Telecom fined for abusing dominant position
The French Competition Authority has fined France Telecom AUD$47 million for allegedly restricting access and inflating prices, thus preventing new operators from entering the fixed telephony and broadband markets. The action stemmed from France Telecom’s actions in French overseas territories, including Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyana and Reunion, between 2001 and 2006.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission has imposed a fine of AUD$149 million on three manufacturers of ductile cast-iron pipes used in water supply systems. The JFTC found Kubota, Kurimoto and Nippon Chutetsukan had colluded to reduce production and divide the market between 1996 and 1998. The fine of AUD$95 million imposed on Kubota is the second largest on record for a single company.
Three Japanese steelmakers, Nippon Steel & Sumikin Coated Sheet, Nisshin Steel and Yodogawa Steel, have been fined over AUD$129 million for allegedly fixing the price of steel plating and coated flat steel in Japan. A fourth company, JFE, alerted the JFTC to the cartel and subsequently escaped any fines for its involvement in the cartel.
Qualcomm fined for abusing dominant position in Korea
The Korea Fair Trade Commission has fined the United States wireless chip and technology company Qualcomm AUD$255 million for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the Korean market for code division multiple access mobile phone chips. The KFTC claims Qualcomm levied higher royalties on companies that used modem chips supplied by rival companies.
An international spam ring has been ordered to pay AUD$4.7 million after action by the US Federal Trade Commission uncovered it had sent spam about bogus ‘hoodia’ weight-loss products and a human growth hormone pill it claimed reversed the ageing process. During this case the FTC used the Safe Web Act, a federal law that enhances the FTC’s ability to exchange information with foreign counterparts. The FTC settled with three defendants in the case, Spear Systems and two individuals (one in the US and one in Australia) in May 2008.
