ACTIONS CORNER
E.ON has to pay a fine of 38 million euros for damaging an EU seal in connection with antitrust investigations by the European Commission. That was the decision of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The judges rejected a complaint by the DAX Group against the fine. E.ON employees are said to have damaged a seal with which the Brussels competition authorities had secured records in the Munich branch of the company in May 2006. The utility was suspected of having colluded illegally with competitors. Investigators had stored the files as possible evidence in a company space and closed it with the seals.
The out-of-court settlement of a dispute in the United States ongoing since October 2008 has cost KRONES dearly. In it the bottling-plant manufacturer agreed to payments of about 110 million U.S. dollars to various plaintiffs, plus $15 million to the U.S. Treasury as part of the stayed investigation. The entire procedure burdened KRONES with around $100 million net (before taxes). The yield will not, however, be affected by the agreement, since the company has made adequate provisions. Only one plaintiff is still arguing about legal fees.