EU court reduces Infineon fine to €76.87m

Europe’s second top court cut German company Infineon Technologies antitrust fine on Wednesday from €82.78m to €76.87m.

The Luxembourg-based General Court said EU competition enforcers took insufficient account of the limited number of anti-competitive contacts Infineon had with its rivals.

“The Commission took insufficient account of the limited number of the anti-competitive contacts which Infineon had with its competitors and also found that company had a contact without succeeding in proving its existence,” judges said.

The Court of Justice of the European Union in 2018 told the General Court to review the case again after Infineon appealed the lower tribunal’s 2016 ruling, rejecting its challenge against the EU antitrust fine.

The European Commission had in 2014 imposed a total fine of €138m on Infineon, Philips and Samsung Electronics for taking part in a cartel between 2003 and 2005.