BRUSSELS - Four big makers of flat glass used for windows, doors and mirrors were fined 486.9 million euros ($717.2 million) by European regulators on Wednesday for illegally coordinating price rises and business conditions.
The European Commission fined privately held US firm Guardian 148 million euros; Pilkington Plc, the UK unit of Japanese glass maker Nippon Sheet Glass 140 million euros; French producer Saint-Gobain 133.9 million euros; and Belgian-based Glaverbel SA, a unit of Japan’s Asahi Glass Co, 65 million euros.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement the cartel was discovered with the help of national competition authorities, unlike many cases where one company involved in illicit price-fixing acted as a whistleblower to escape fines.