European Commission fines MCAA chemicals cartel

MCAA (monochloroacetic acid) is used in the manufacture of detergents, adhesives, textile auxiliaries and thickeners used in foods, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

The fines are part of the commission’s determination to crack down on companies entering into cartel arrangements. The Atofina (now Arkema) and Hoechst fines were increased substantially as both had previously been fined for similar illegal behavior.

The commission’s investigation was triggered by information brought to its attention by one of the participants, in return for immunity under the Commission’s antitrust leniency program.

The commission found that Akzo Nobel, Atofina, Hoechst and Clariant (after it took over Hoechst’s MCAA business in 1997) had colluded in secret to share the market and fix prices for MCAA in violation of EC Treaty rules.

Together the companies involved controlled over 90% of the European Economic Area (EEA) market for MCAA. In 1998, the last full year of the infringement, the EEA market was worth approximately E125 million.

Clariant received full immunity for being the first to provide evidence of the existence of the cartel to the commission, and Atofina and Akzo were granted reductions of 40% and 25%, respectively, for the information they provided. As a result, the commission imposed fines of E84.38 million on Akzo Nobel, E58.5 million on Atofina and E74.03 million on Hoechst.

Hoechst, an affiliate of Sanofi-Aventis, has said that it will consider whether to bring appeal in the Court of First Instance in Luxemburg once it has received the full text of the decision. The fine, which has already been taken into account, will have no impact on the results of Sanofi-Aventis.