Aisin Seiki to plead guilty to antitrust charges -U.S. Justice Dept (updated)

Autoline Industries

13/11/2014 16:59

(Adds background) 
    WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Japanese auto parts maker 
Aisin Seiki Co Ltd  7259.T  has agreed to plead guilty and pay a 
$35.8 million dollar fine for conspiring to divide up the 
market, U.S. federal prosecutors said on Thursday. 
    The company conspired to allocate customers for variable 
valve timing devices, the Justice Department said. Customers 
included General Motors Co  GM.N , Nissan Motor Co Ltd  7201.T , 
Volvo Car Corp  VOLVb.ST  and BMW AG  BMWG.DE . 
    The company worked with unnamed competitors between 2000 and 
2010 to decide which of them would sell the devices to which 
auto maker, and what bid and price each would give, the 
department said. 
    The valves regulate the timing of the opening of the 
engine's intake and exhaust valves to get the best performance 
and fuel economy possible. 
    Aisin joins a list of 30 other auto parts makers that have 
either pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty to price fixing 
or other violations of antitrust law. Others include Toyoda 
Gosei Ltd,  7282.T , Autoliv Inc  ALV.N , G.S Electech, Tokai 
Rika Co Ltd  6995.T  and TRW Deutschland Holding GmbH. 
    In addition, more than 40 people have been charged with 
price fixing as part of the long-running probe. 
    Aisin was not immediately available for comment. 
 
 (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Lisa Von 
Ahn) 
 ((Diane.Bartz@thomsonreuters.com; 1 202 898 8313)) 
 
Keywords: AISINSEIKI JUSTICE/ANTITRUST