EU Fines Sony, 2 other Japan Firms for Battery Cartel

Brussels, Dec. 12 (Jiji Press)--The European Commission said Monday it has slapped fines totaling 166 million euros on major Japanese electronics makers Sony Corp. <6758>, Panasonic Corp. <6752>, and Sanyo Electric Co., a unit of Panasonic, for fixing prices on lithium-ion batteries. Sony was fined 30 million euros, Panasonic 39 million euros and Sanyo 97 million euros, the executive arm of the European Union said. South Korea's Samsung SDI Co. also took part in the cartel but was not fined as it informed the commission of the anticompetitive business practice, it noted. According to the commission, the four makers coordinated prices and exchanged sensitive information on supplies of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries chiefly for laptop computers and mobile phones. The cartel started in February 2004 and lasted until November 2007. All companies acknowledged their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case, the commission said. END