The French Conseil de la Concurrence, or Competition Council, has fined four bearing manufacturers a total of € 19 million (USD $18.7 million). SKF, INA, FAG and SNR were charged with price fixing and collusion in setting French wholesale prices and discount structures during 1993 and 1997.

Hardest hit was SKF France, a subsidiary of SKF AB (Sweden) with a € 7.9 million ($7.8 million) fine.

SNR Roulements (France) was fined € 6.6 million ($6.5 million).

INA Holdings Schaeffler KG (Germany) was fined a total of € 4 million ($4 million), which includes a fine for recently-acquired FAG Kugelfischer Georg Schaefer AG (Germany).

Asked to comment on the ruling, SKF told eBearing, "SKF France denies infringement of French antitrust rules. SKF France will in due course consider whether to appeal this decision or not."

Established in 1986, the 17-member Conseil de la Concurrence is an independent agency responsible for analyzing and regulating market competition in France. It superseded the 1977 Competition Commission.

The current council has a wide variety of remedies available to it. However, the maximum monetary fine it can impose is 10% of a company's worldwide pretax sales.

The companies have one month to appeal to the Paris Court of Appeals. If they lose there, they must appeal to the Supreme Court within one month.