The European Commission has fined Orbia, Clariant and Celanese a total of €260 million for breaching EU antitrust rules. Westlake was not fined as it revealed the cartel to the Commission.

 

The companies took part in a cartel concerning purchases on the ethylene merchant market. They colluded to buy ethylene for the lowest possible price. All four companies acknowledged their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case.

 

The Commission's investigation revealed that from December 2011 to March 2017 during the process of establishing the MCP, four ethylene purchasers coordinated their price negotiation strategy vis-à-vis the ethylene sellers to influence the MCP to their advantage. The companies are Westlake of the US, Orbia of Mexico, Clariant of Switzerland and Celanese of the US. The practices covered the territory of Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

 

Unlike in most cartels where companies conspire to increase their sales prices, the four companies colluded to lower the value of ethylene, to the detriment of ethylene sellers. In particular, the companies coordinated their price negotiation strategies before and during the bilateral MCP ‘settlement' negotiations with ethylene sellers to push the MCP down to their advantage. They also exchanged price-related information. These practices are prohibited by the EU competition rules.

 

The European Commission said the four companies took part in a cartel related to purchases on the ethylene merchant market by colluding to buy ethylene at the lowest possible price.

 

“The four companies in the cartel have colluded and exchanged information on purchasing prices which is illegal,” EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

 

The EU competition enforcer reduced the fines for the four companies by 10% because admitted to taking part in the cartel. However it also increased the penalties by 10% to avoid under-deterrence of such practices.