Swiss chemical group Clariant faces fresh price fixing probe

Clariant confronted with further ethylene damages claim Keystone-SDA

The Swiss chemicals group Clariant is facing another claim for damages in connection with alleged price fixing.

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The Austrian petrochemicals group OMV has filed a lawsuit against a total of four companies, including Clariant.

OMV is claiming damages totalling around €1 billion in a court in Amsterdam in connection with breaches of competition in the purchase of ethylene, Clariant announced on Tuesday.

At the same time, Clariant strictly rejects the allegations and intends to vigorously defend its rights in this matter. Clariant wants to have proof that the behaviour of the companies involved had no impact on the market.

Only around a fortnight ago, the chemical company Dow filed a claim for damages against Clariant and three other companies at a court in Munich, claiming damages of €767 million. This related to the infringements of competition law in the ethylene purchasing market sanctioned by the European Commission in July 2020.

Clariant already fined

Clariant, Orbia, Celanese and Westlake had colluded in the purchase of ethylene in order to achieve the lowest possible price. All four companies admitted their role in the cartel in summer 2020 and agreed to a settlement. Clariant paid a fine of €155.8 million.

A fortnight ago, however, Clariant also rejected Dow’s accusations. BASF filed a claim for damages in the same case in mid-January, TotalEnergies in February. The Germans are claiming damages of €1.4 billion from the four companies, while the French are claiming €625 million. Shell also filed a lawsuit in 2023.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

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