July 8 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday
imposed a total fine of 1.1 billion euros on German utility E.ON
and GDF Suez for secretly carving up gas markets.[ID:nL8710239]
The companies were fined 553 million euros each, signalling
the EU's determination to crack down on suspected market
manipulation by big utility companies in the energy markets.
The fines were the first for an antitrust infringement in
the energy sector.
The biggest Commission fine on a single company was the
1.06-billion-euro penalty imposed on chipmaker Intel Corp in
May. The biggest cartel fine was the more than 1.3 billion euros
imposed on a group of car glass makers last November.
The following is a list of some of the big fines the
Commission has imposed for various antitrust infringements.
COMPANY MILLION EUROS YEAR
Intel Corp 1,060 2009
Microsoft 899 2008
Saint Gobain 896 2008
E.ON 553 2009
GDF Suez 553 2009
Microsoft 497 2004
ThyssenKrupp 480 2007
Hoffmann-La Roche AG 462 2001
Siemens 397 2007
Eni 272 2006
Lafarge SA 250 2002
BASF AG 239 2001
Otis 225 2007
Heineken NV 219 2007
Arkema 219 2006
Solvay 167 2006
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(Reporting by Bate Felix)
