By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS, Dec 10 (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators fined Spain’s Abengoa ABG.MC 20 million euros ($22.5 million) on Friday for rigging ethanol benchmarks as part of a crackdown on such practices.
The European Commission has levied billion-euro fines in recent years, with regulators on both sides of the Atlantic acting against banks for manipulating financial benchmarks.
It had been investigating Abengoa, Belgian peer Alcogroup and Swedish company Lantmannen on possible rigging of ethanol benchmarks, which are published by energy and commodities information provider S&P Global Platts.
The European Union’s competition watchdog said Spanish engineering and energy group Abengoa admitted taking part in a cartel from September 2011 to May 2014 and agreed to settle for a reduction in the fine.
The Commission said Abengoa coordinated its trading behaviour with other companies. It did not name the companies but said investigations were still ongoing.
“Abengoa’s aim was to artificially increase, maintain and/or prevent from decreasing the levels of Platts’ ethanol benchmarks. Abengoa also limited the supply of ethanol delivered to the Rotterdam area,” the Commission said in a statement.
Abengoa said regulators did a detailed analysis of its financial situation and viability plans and agreed to a substantial cut in the fine, with a structured payment plan distributed over several years.
“The fine, which is lower than the amount provided for in the company’s viability plans, does not compromise the restructuring and viability plans currently underway,” the company said in a statement.
Alcogroup and Lantmannen, which has previously said it was in settlement talks with the Commission, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Abengoa entered bankruptcy proceedings in February after its creditors refused to extend a deadline to negotiate a restructuring of its 6 billion euro debt pile.
Two rival groups – one led by U.S. private equity fund Terramar and another by retail shareholders – are battling to take control of Abengoa’s main assets, which have been spun off into a separate holding company.
($1 = 0.8877 euros)
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Nathan Allen in Madrid; Editing by Alexander Smith)
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