In Belgium, European Commission has informed Alcogroup S.A. and its subsidiary Alcodis S.A. (together ‘Alcogroup’) as well as Lantmännen ek för and its subsidiary Lantmännen Agroetanol AB (together ‘Agroetanol) of its preliminary view that, together with Abengoa S.A. (‘Abengoa’), which settled the case in December 2021, they have breached EU antitrust rules. The Commission considers that the companies colluded to influence the wholesale price formation mechanism for ethanol in Europe.
Alcogroup and Agroetanol decided not to settle this cartel case with the Commission. As a result, the Commission’s investigation against the two companies is being carried out under the standard cartel procedure.