By Monica Houston-Waesch
Germany's cartel office Thursday issued fines totaling 124.5
million euros ($156.5 million) to companies in a rail cartel
probe.
The fines relate to the initial part of the investigation into
whether manufacturers made cartel agreements on the supply of rail
to Germany's Deutsche Bahn, to the disadvantage of the railway
company. The fines aren't legally binding and may be appealed.
ThyssenKrupp AG (TKA.XE) unit ThyssenKrupp GfT Gleistechnik GmbH
was fined EUR103 million, Vossloh AG unit Stahlberg Roensch GmbH
was fined EUR13 million, and two units of Austrian steelmaker
voestalpline AG (VOE.VI) were fined a total of EUR8.5 million.
"This case shows anew that public tenders require strong
scrutiny," the office said in a statement.
In a statement, voestalpine said its fine would have been
several times higher without its prompt cooperation in the
probe.
ThyssenKrupp said it would accept the fine to settle this part
of the case, and that investigations are still underway regarding
two other product areas. The company has made a provision of EUR30
million for the remainder of the probe, it said in a statement.
The cartel office said it would expand the investigation to
other areas, including the supply of rail to regional and local
railways.
Write to Monica Houston-Waesch at nikki.houston@dowjones.com