DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. (SSDIY, 006400.SE) agreed to a $32 million
criminal fine as it pleaded guilty to a charge that it participated
in a price-fixing conspiracy, the Justice Department said Friday,
the latest development in a long-running investigation.
The felony count charged the Korean company with participating
in a conspiracy to fix prices, reduce production and allocate
various market shares for color display tubes, a type of
cathode-ray tube use in computer monitors.
The Justice Department said Samsung SDI participated in the
conspiracy since as early as 1997 until at least March 2006. It was
charged with violating the Sherman Act.
The Justice Department said in addition to Friday's charge, six
people have been indicted in connection with the color-display tube
investigation.
Contact information to reach the company for comment wasn't
immediately available.
Dozens of companies already have been charged in a similar,
LCD-display price-fixing investigation. Companies affected by the
LCD price-fixing conspiracy include some of the largest computer
and television manufacturers in the world, including Apple Inc.
(APPL), Dell Inc. (DELL) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ).
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com
