France's Arkema sees EU anti-trust fine Wednesday

Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:49am EST
 
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BRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - French specialty chemicals maker Arkema (AKE.PA) could be fined in excess of 100 million euros on charges of taking part in a cartel when EU anti-trust regulators rule on Wednesday, a company spokeswoman said.

The European Commission in March formally charged an unnamed number of companies for taking part in a cartel of heat stabilisers, a substance added to PVC products to make them more resistant and rigid.

The charges followed raids on 14 companies in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Britain in February 2003.

"Concerning the decision of the European Commission expected tomorrow on heat stabilizers ... if we do base on the past fines, it can be between the scope of a few million euros to more than 1 hundred millions," Arkema spokeswoman Sybille Chaix said in an email.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)

 

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