Seven LCD makers settle price-fixing case for $553 million

Seven prominent LCD makers have agreed to pay a fine of $553 million to settle multiple cases relating to claims they conspired together to fix prices for LCD panels found in TVs, notebooks and other monitors from the years 1999 to 2006.

The companies in question are Samsung, Sharp, Hitachi, HannStar Display, Chimei Innolux, Chunghwa Picture Tubes and Espon Imaging Devices. The case began in 2006, as authorities in Japan, Korea, the EU and the U.S. began probing into the "cartel" that had been formed by the companies and their anti-competitive activity.

So far, the companies and their top execs have paid out over $890 million in fines for settlements in the EU or elsewhere. Just last month, 8 companies including Samsung and Sharp, agreed to pay $388 million to settle litigation by direct purchasers of the LCD panels, says Reuters.

The $553 million from this payout will go to "indirect purchasers" of the LCDs and claims by 8 U.S. states; Arkansas, California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New York, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Samsung will pay $240 million, Sharp will pay $115.5 million, Chimei Innolux Corp will pay $110.3 million, Hitachi Displays, $39 million, HannStar Display, $25.7 million, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd, $5.3 million and Epson Imaging Devices at $2.9 million.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Dec 2011 21:56

Notcow

Question: Was it worth it. As far as I'm concerned, these anti-price fixing efforts are only effective if they lose more money as a result of the fines than they gained from the price-fixing...$240 million seems like a lot of money, but I have no idea how much they made from the fixing.

And to think I've just bought myself a Samsung television! Hope they're not price fixing anymore.

28.12.2011 01:00 #1

DVDBack23

Originally posted by Notcow: Question: Was it worth it. As far as I'm concerned, these anti-price fixing efforts are only effective if they lose more money as a result of the fines than they gained from the price-fixing...$240 million seems like a lot of money, but I have no idea how much they made from the fixing.

And to think I've just bought myself a Samsung television! Hope they're not price fixing anymore. Yes, it was worth it. I don't have all the balance sheets in front of me obviously but the profits were in the billions. I wouldn't be surprised if it was in $4+ billion range. LCD margins were not as constrained back then as they are now.

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28.12.2011 02:24 #2

llongtheD

Originally posted by DVDBack23: Originally posted by Notcow: Question: Was it worth it. As far as I'm concerned, these anti-price fixing efforts are only effective if they lose more money as a result of the fines than they gained from the price-fixing...$240 million seems like a lot of money, but I have no idea how much they made from the fixing.

And to think I've just bought myself a Samsung television! Hope they're not price fixing anymore. Yes, it was worth it. I don't have all the balance sheets in front of me obviously but the profits were in the billions. I wouldn't be surprised if it was in $4+ billion range. LCD margins were not as constrained back then as they are now. Exactly, this fine is a pittance when split up between these companies. They knew exactly what they were doing, and even if they got caught, the profits outweigh the fine. In the end it will be passed back on to the consumers, defrauding on a corporate scale is the norm.

29.12.2011 11:11 #3

Mez

Ditto!

29.12.2011 11:51 #4

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