Kingspan has been fined €40 million by the European Commission for providing “misleading information” during its now abandoned bid to buy Slovenian rival Trimo.
The European Commission said the Irish building materials group committed “four distinct infringements” of EU merger rules.
The Commission initially raised six objections but dropped two after considering Kingspan’s response. It concluded the remaining breaches were serious enough to warrant a major fine.
The European Commissioner who’s brief covers Competition, Teresa Ribera, said accurate information was essential to merger control.
“When companies withhold or distort the truth, they undermine a system that protects fair competition for everyone,” she said.
“There can be no compromise on disclosure and transparency.”
The Commission imposed a €10 million fine for each of the four areas of infringement.
EU rules allow penalties of up to one percent of a company’s total turnover for intentionally or negligently providing incorrect or misleading information.
Kingspan did not respond directly to a request for a response to the fine, but it is reportedly planning to appeal the decision in full.
The company’s head office is in Kingscourt in County Cavan.
The case is the fourth time the Commission has fined a company for incorrect or misleading information under the EU Merger Regulation.
Previous penalties involved Facebook, General Electric and Sigma-Aldrich.