Understand
European Commission fines Kingspan €40m for misleading competition investigation
Overview
Irish building materials firm Kingspan has been fined €40m (£33.9m) by the European Commission for providing incorrect and misleading information during a 2021 merger investigation into its planned takeover of rival Trimo. The commission found Kingspan committed four separate breaches of rules, which obstructed the review process. Kingspan stated it will appeal the decision in full.
Key points
- Kingspan was fined €40m by the European Commission, broken down into €10m for each of four separate breaches.
- The penalty relates to incorrect and misleading information provided during a 2021 EU merger investigation concerning Kingspan's planned takeover of Trimo.
- The European Commission stated that Kingspan's conduct obstructed the investigation by withholding or distorting information and claiming key documents did not exist.
- Kingspan abandoned the proposed takeover of Trimo in 2022 following competition concerns raised by the watchdog.
- Kingspan announced it noted the decision and plans to appeal it in full.