The Nederlandse Mededingingsautoriteit, or NMa, [Netherlands Competition Authority] announced that Accell Group has been ordered to pay a fine of 12.8 million ($15.1 million) because of an infringement of the law on Competition with regard to alleged price-fixing in the 2001 cycling season. Accell Group disagrees entirely with the accusation and the fine and will immediately appeal. This means that the obligation to pay the fine is deferred.
Accell posted a net profit of 9.2 million ($10.4 mm) in 2003.
René Takens, Chairman of the Board of the Accell Group:
“We think it's ridiculous that we have had to wait nearly four years for such a ruling and I'm furious about the NMa's ruling. The accusation about alleged price-fixing is unfounded. It is completely unthinkable. Quite simply, no agreements were made. We have always acted in good faith. The fine is unjust and indeed out of all proportion for a company with a net profit margin of 3%. We will be using all the legal means at our disposal to appeal against the ruling. We are quite confident that the matter will go in our favour.”
For the infringement of the Competition law, the NMa refers to a number of remarks made during a meeting with other bicycle manufacturers in June 2000, where casual statements already made previously in public were repeated about passing on higher costs in the selling prices of the bicycles it produces because of currency fluctuations. Another meeting in August 2000 also referred to in the NMa pronouncement, did not take place.
The remarks did not concern any confidential commercial information. The policy with regard to cost increases of bicycle parts, in particular related to currency fluctuations, had already been made public by Accell Group among others on a number of occasions earlier since 1999 during meetings and interviews with the press, shareholders, analysts and investors prior to the meeting with other bicycle producers. The price increase in Holland was not noticeably different from that in our neighbouring countries. Accell Group is convinced that the Dutch consumer has not been affected in any way. There is always a good bicycle for sale at every price level.
The NMa also recognises that the price rises were also the consequence of external factors and not only the result of alleged price-fixing. Furthermore, in the opinion of independent economic experts, the NMa did not make a reasonable case that so-called information-exchange during that meeting was the reason for the price rises in the 2001 cycling season. With regard to all other accusations, no infringements have been found to have taken place.
