ECJ Orders Review of Infineon Antitrust Fine

   By Nathan Allen 
 

Europe's highest court on Wednesday ordered a lower court to review a penalty imposed on Infineon Technologies AG (IFX.XE) for its role in an alleged cartel with other chipmakers.

The European Court of Justice said the General Court must "assess the proportionality" of the 82.8 million-euro ($97.4 million) fine, which was levied on Infineon by the European Commission in 2014, after it said the company had conspired to fix prices for chips used in mobile phones between 2003 and 2005.

Infineon and fellow chipmaker Philips NV (PHIA.AE)--which was hit with a EUR20.1 million fine--challenged the Commission's decision in the General Court, disputing the existence of any cartel and the amount of the fines.

The General Court dismissed the actions and upheld the fines, prompting the companies to lodge a second appeal with the ECJ.

Following its investigation, the ECJ said the General Court should have responded to Infineon's claims that the penalty was disproportionate.

The ECJ dismissed Phillips's appeal and upheld the original fine imposed by the Commission.

Write to Nathan Allen at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 26, 2018 06:54 ET (10:54 GMT)

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