18.05.2011 • News

EU Court Upholds €59 Million Fine on Arkema, Elf

Europe's second-highest court on Tuesday upheld European Union antitrust fines totaling €59 million ($84 million) on French groups Elf Aquitaine and Arkema for participating in a cartel in a paper-bleaching chemical.

The General Court upheld a 2008 ruling they had fixed prices for sodium chlorate, divided up market volumes and shared sensitive information in a cartel with several other firms from 1995-2000.

Elf Aquitaine later merged with French oil major Total and spun off chemicals group Arkema France.

The cartel also included Finnish Chemicals, Erikem of Luxembourg, Spanish firm Aragonesas/Uralita, Swedish group EKA Chemicals and Dutch company AkzoNobel.

Sodium chlorate is mainly used to produce chlorine dioxide used in the pulp and paper industry to bleach wood pulp.

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Vote Now: Germany's Most Promising Chemistry Start-ups

The "From Lab to Market Challenge" brings together the most promising founders from chemistry, materials science, and industrial biotechnology. Starting June 1st, you can cast your public vote for the finalists on CHEManager.com — before the award ceremony with €10,000 in prizes takes place on June 25th.

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