2nd UPDATE: DOJ: Panasonic, Whirlpool Unit To Plead Guilty To Price Fixing
30 Settembre 2010 - 6:52PM
Dow Jones News
Panasonic Corp. (PC, 6752.TO) and a Whirlpool Corp. (WHR)
subsidiary will plead guilty to conspiring to fix prices on
refrigerant compressors and will pay $140.9 million in criminal
fines, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.
Whirlpool unit Embraco North America Inc., based in Suwanee,
Ga., will pay a $91.8 million criminal fine, while Panasonic will
pay $49.1 million.
Prosecutors said the price-fixing conspiracy took place from as
early as October 2004 until December 2007.
They alleged the two companies, along with other unnamed
corporations and individuals, held meetings and conversations to
fix prices on household compressors and light commercial
compressors. The companies also exchanged information to monitor
and enforce the agreed-upon prices, prosecutors said.
Refrigerant compressors are used to cool refrigerators and
freezers.
Charging documents filed by prosecutors offered no details on
how much consumers might have overpaid due to the price-fixing
scheme.
Panasonic said in a written statement that it fully cooperating
in the investigation and that the fine wouldn't materially affect
its financial outlook for the fiscal year.
"It is the policy of Panasonic Corporation to comply with all
applicable laws and regulations, including antitrust regulations,"
the company said. "Panasonic takes this matter seriously and will
make every effort to maintain the public's confidence."
In a statement, Whirlpool said the fine will result in a
$1.20-a-share charge for the third quarter, results of which will
be released Oct. 27. The release didn't specifically address the
allegations.
Thursday's charges were the Justice Department's first in this
ongoing investigation. The department said last year that it was
investigating possible antitrust violations in the
multibillion-dollar refrigeration compressor industry, in
conjunction with international authorities.
The case was filed in a federal court in Detroit.
Embraco operates as a separate company, supplying compressors
for Whirlpool's brands as well as other appliance makers. Embraco
has annual sales of about $1.5 billion and is estimated to control
as much as 25% of the global market for refrigerator
compressors.
Whirlpool announced last year that Embraco would pay $56.5
million over five and a half years to end a similar antitrust
investigation by Brazilian authorities.
-By Brent Kendall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9222;
brent.kendall@dowjones.com
(Bob Tita contributed to this article.)
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