Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: EC issues statement of objections to electrolytic capacitors manufacturers, (Nov 4, 2015)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

The European Commission (EC) has sent a statement of objections to ten manufacturers of electrolytic capacitors that are suspected of having participated in a cartel, in breach of European Union (EU) antitrust rules, the EC announced today.

Electrolytic capacitors are used to store electrical energy, such as to smooth the output of power supplies and to activate camera flashes. Capacitors are used in virtually all electronic products, from televisions to games consoles and mobile phones.

The EC’s investigation began in March 2014 with investigative measures by several competition authorities around the world.

The Commission has concerns that, from at least 1997 to 2014, ten Asian manufacturers of electrolytic capacitors met in a series of multilateral meetings in Japan to discuss future market trends, prices, and specific customer information. These multilateral meetings appear to have been supplemented with additional bi- or tri-lateral discussions between the companies. Some of these additional discussions appear to have taken place in Europe with the European subsidiary of a Japanese company.

If established, such behavior would violate EU rules that prohibit anticompetitive business practices, such as collusion on prices under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The sending of a statement of objections does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.

News: Antitrust