EU raids Spain cement sector over suspected cartel

BRUSSELS – Cartel investigators from the European Union executive raided a number of makers of cement and related products in Spain this week as part of a probe that began last year, the European Commission said yesterday.

Swiss-based Holcim confirmed it had been searched. Spanish authorities said Cementos Portland, an affiliate of builder FCC , and world No. 3 cement maker Cemex of Mexico had been raided.The Commission, antitrust watchdog of the 27-country European Union, did not identify the companies involved. It said in a statement that it carried out the raids with the Spanish competition authority yesterday and on Tuesday.’The Commission has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices and/or abuse of a dominant market position,’ the EU executive said.A Commission spokesman said the raids were part of an investigation into the sector that began in November 2008. Last year, cement giants Lafarge of France, Cemex, Holcim, HeidelbergCement and Dyckerhoff of Germany said they had been targeted by the EU’s investigation.Holcim confirmed in a statement that its offices in Spain had been searched by the antitrust authorities and that it was cooperating with them.HeidelbergCement yesterday said it was not affected by the raids.Holcim shares were up 0,8 per cent, Lafarge 0,1 per cent down, Heidelberg 2,6 per cent lower and Dyckerhoff 1,3 per cent off at mid-session versus a 0,1 per cent higher DJ Stoxx construction and building materials index.The EU’s antitrust watchdog carries out surprise raids as a preliminary step in investigating suspected anti-competitive practices.If companies are found by the Commission to have breached European antitrust regulations, they could be fined up to 10 percent of their annual revenue.-Nampa-Reuters