Several
plastic pipe producers, including Belgium's Tessenderlo and Austrian peer
Wienerberger, were raided by European Union antitrust regulators last month on
suspicion that they might have formed a cartel, in breach of EU rules.
The
European Commission said on Wednesday that the raids took place on June 26, but
did not identify the companies involved or the countries in which they are
based.
"The
Commission has concerns that the companies concerned may have violated EU
antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices,"
the EU watchdog said in a statement.
Tessenderlo
said one of its units had been raided.
"One
of our subsidiaries was (raided) that does fittings ... Nyloplast," said a
spokeswoman. "We're waiting for them to come back to us and we will
collaborate."
Wienerberger,
the world's largest brickmaker, said its Pipelife unit had been raided. It
acquired the remaining half of Pipelife from Belgium's Solvay in February.
Wienerberg spokeswoman Barbara Braunoeck said the company was working closely
with the Commission.
Europe's
biggest plastics pipe maker Wavin, which was acquired by Mexican industrial
conglomerate Mexichem last month, was not immediately available to comment.
Swiss-based
Georg Fischer and German privately-held Rehau, both major players in the
sector, said they were not under investigation.
Companies
can be fined up to 10 percent of their global turnover if found guilty of
breaching EU rules. The Commission has levied more than 7 billion euros ($8.58
billion) in fines against cartels in the last four years.
($1 =
0.8160 euros) (Additional reporting by Rex Merrifield, Gilbert Kreijger in
Amsterdam, Fredrik Dahl in Vienna, Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt and Katharina
Bart in Zurich; writing by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
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