Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: European Commission issues statement of objections to Grupo Riberebro Integral S.L., (May 28, 2015)

By Michael Menzhuber, J.D., LL.M.

The European Commission (EC) has sent a statement of objections to Grupo Riberebro Integral S.L., and its subsidiary Riberebro Integral S.A.U., that it suspects the companies of having breached European Union (EU) antitrust rules by colluding with competitors on both customer allocation and the pricing of so-called "private label" canned mushrooms (i.e. manufactured by one company to be sold under another company's brand name) in the European Economic Area (EEA). This activity violates EU rules that prohibit anti-competitive business practices such as collusion on prices and market sharing (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement).

The EC’s investigation started with unannounced inspections in February 2012. In June 2014, a settlement decision was adopted against three companies (Bonduelle, Lutèce and Prochamp) that admitted their involvement in the cartel. The total fines imposed were €32,225,000. The investigation concerning Riberebro continued under the standard cartel procedure.

If, after the companies have exercised their rights of defense, the EC concludes that there is sufficient evidence of an infringement, it can adopt a decision prohibiting the conduct and imposing a fine of up to 10 percent of a company's annual worldwide turnover.

News: Antitrust