28 Jun 2012

Coats appeal against cartel decision dismissed

1:54 pm on 28 June 2012

GPG's threadmaking subsidiary Coats will have to pay a €110 million fine for its part of a price fixing cartel in zips and fasteners between 1977 and the late 1990s.

The European General Court has dismissed Coats' appeal of a European Commission decision from 2007.

The activity took place before GPG took ownership of Coats.

Coats says it is extremely disapointed with the court's decision and it is considering whether there are grounds for further appeal to the European Court of Justice.

An extra €28 million in interest costs have been accrued since the initial decision.

Coats says it has a provision of €45 million for the fine, leaving an extra €93 million to be accounted for in the six months to the end of June.

The company says it refinanced its debt facilities in October and it has adequate banking facilities to allow it to pay the fine.