4The General Court made the following findings:1 …The infringement consisted in fixing prices, agreeing on price lists, agreeing on discounts and rebates, agreeing on implementation mechanisms for introducing price increases, allocating national markets, allocating customers and exchanging other commercial information and also in participating in regular meetings and in maintaining other contacts intended to facilitate the infringement.2 [Aalberts, Aquatis and Simplex] are among the addressees of the contested decision.3 Aalberts is the parent company of an international industrial group listed on the Euronext Securities Market in Amsterdam (Netherlands). It controls, directly or indirectly, a number of undertakings active in the fittings production or distribution sector. On 30 August 2002 Aalberts acquired the entire fittings production and distribution business of IMI plc [“IMI”], although the business was collectively known as “Yorkshire Fittings Group”. That transaction consisted in particular of the acquisition of the totality of the shares in Raccord Orléanais SA [“Raccord Orléanais”] (which later became Aquatis) and R. Woeste & Co. Yorkshire GmbH [“Woeste & Co”] (which later became Simplex). Those two undertakings were integrated within one of the two main businesses of the Aalberts group, Flow Control.4 In March 2006, Comap, an addressee of the contested decision by virtue of its participation in the infringement under the control of Legris Industries SA and the applicant in Case T-377/06, was transferred to the Aalberts group. By email of 16 April 2007, the Court was informed that all of Aquatis’ assets and liabilities had been transferred to Comap and that Aquatis had ceased to exist as a legal entity. …5 On 9 January 2001, Mueller Industries Inc., another producer of copper fittings, informed the Commission of the existence of a cartel in the fittings sector and in other related industries in the copper tubes market, and expressed its willingness to cooperate with the Commission under the terms of the Commission Notice on the non-imposition or reduction of fines in cartel cases (OJ 1996 C 207, p. 4; “the 1996 Leniency Notice”) (recital 114 to the contested decision).6 On 22 and 23 March 2001, in the framework of an investigation concerning copper tubes and fittings, the Commission, pursuant to Article 14(3) of Council Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962, First Regulation implementing Articles [81 EC] and [82 EC] (OJ, English Special Edition 1959-1962, p. 87), carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of a number of undertakings, including IMI which was the parent company of Raccord Orléanais and [Woeste & Co.] at that time (recital 119 to the contested decision).7 Following those first inspections, the Commission, in April 2001, split the investigation relating to copper tubes into three different proceedings, namely the proceedings relating to Case COMP/E-1/38.069 (Copper Plumbing Tubes), Case COMP/F-1/38.121 (Fittings) and Case COMP/E-1/38.240 (Industrial Tubes), respectively (recital 120 to the contested decision).…9 From February/March 2002, the Commission sent the parties concerned a number of requests for information pursuant to Article 11 of Regulation No 17, and then pursuant to Article 18 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 [EC] and 82 [EC] (OJ 2003 L 1, p. 1) (recital 122 to the contested decision).10 In September 2003, IMI submitted an application for leniency under the 1996 Leniency Notice. That application was followed by applications from the Delta group (March 2004) and FRA.BO SpA [“FRA.BO”] (July 2004). The final leniency application was submitted in May 2005 by Advanced Fluid Connections plc (“AFC”). FRA.BO provided, inter alia, information drawing the Commission’s attention to the fact that the infringement had continued during the period from 2001 to 2004, that is to say, after the Commission’s inspections (recitals 115 to 118 to the contested decision).11 On 22 September 2005, the Commission initiated an infringement proceeding in the framework of Case COMP/F-1/38.121 (Fittings) and adopted a statement of objections, which was then notified to the [respondents] (recitals 123 and 124 to the contested decision).12 On 20 September 2006, the Commission adopted the contested decision.13 In Article 1 of the contested decision, the Commission found that the [respondents] had participated in the infringement for the following periods:— from 25 June 2003 to 1 April 2004, as regards Aalberts;— from 31 January 1991 to 22 March 2001, as members of the IMI group, and from 25 June 2003 to 1 April 2004, as members of the Aalberts group, as regards Aquatis and Simplex.14 For that infringement, the Commission imposed the following fines on the [respondents] in Article 2(a) and (b) of the contested decision:(a) [Aalberts]: EUR 100.80 million;of which jointly and severally with:[Aquatis]: EUR 55.15 million; and[Simplex]: EUR 55.15 million;(b)1. [IMI], jointly and severally with IMI Kynoch Ltd: EUR 48.30 million;of which jointly and severally with:…[Aquatis]: EUR 48.30 million; and[Simplex]: EUR 48.30 million;2. [Aquatis] and [Simplex] are jointly and severally liable for the additional amount of EUR 2.04 million.”15 Under Article 3 of the contested decision, the undertakings referred to in Article 1 were required immediately to bring to an end the infringement in so far as they had not already done so, and to refrain from any act or conduct described in Article 1 and from any act or conduct having the same or similar object or effect.16 For the purposes of setting the amount of the fine imposed on each undertaking, the Commission applied, in the contested decision, the method set out in the Guidelines on the method of setting fines imposed pursuant to Article 15(2) of Regulation No 17 and Article 65(5) [CS] (OJ 1998 C 9, p. 3; “the 1998 Guidelines”).17 As regards, first of all, the fixing of the starting amount of the fine by reference to the gravity of the infringement, the Commission characterised the infringement as very serious, on account of its nature and its geographic scope (recital 755 to the contested decision).18 Taking the view, next, that there was considerable disparity between the undertakings concerned, the Commission applied differentiated treatment, taking as its basis their relative importance on the relevant market as determined by their market. On that basis, the Commission divided the undertakings concerned into six categories, relying on the respective turnover – in the EEA [European Economic Area] in the year 2000 – of each of the undertakings with the product concerned by the present proceedings, except in regard to Aalberts and AFC, for which the year 2003 was taken into consideration (recital 758 to the contested decision).19 Aalberts was placed in the first category, for which the starting amount was set at EUR 60 million, while IMI was placed in the second category, for which the starting amount was set at EUR 46 million (recital 765 to the contested decision).20 Next, the Commission increased the starting amount of the fine imposed on each of the undertakings in question by 10% per annum of participation in the cartel and, where appropriate, by 5% for each period of between six months and one year. As regards the period between 31 December 1988 and 31 January 1991, the Commission considered it appropriate, on account of the limited geographic scope of the cartel at that time, to increase the fine by 5% per annum (recital 775 to the contested decision).21 Finally, the fact that participation in the infringement continued after the Commission’s inspections, that is during the period between 21 June 2003 and 25 April 2004, was regarded as an aggravating circumstance for which an increase of 60% of the basic amount of the fine imposed on the [respondents] was justified (recitals 779 and 782 to the contested decision).’
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