Hitachi Agrees To Plead Guilty In LCD Price Fixing Case
The U.S. Department of Justice, in a statement Tuesday, said that Hitachi Displays Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., admitted to participating in a conspiracy to fix the prices of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display panels (TFT-LCD) sold to Dell for use in desktop monitors and notebook computers from April 1, 2001 through March 31, 2004.
With the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Hitachi joins other LCD panel manufacturers, including LG Display Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. -- all of which previously pleaded guilty to price fixing, the DoJ said.
"Hitachi joins three other multinational companies who have admitted to their involvement in fixing prices for LCD panels sold to U.S. companies and that have already paid criminal fines totaling more than $585 million," said Scott D. Hammond, Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division. "This case should send a strong message to multinational companies operating in the United States that when it comes to enforcing the U.S. antitrust laws, we mean business."
On Dec. 15, 2008, LG pleaded guilty to participating in a worldwide conspiracy to fix the price for TFT-LCD and was sentenced to pay a $400 million criminal fine -- the second-largest fine in Antitrust Division history, the DoJ said.
On Dec. 16, 2008, Sharp pleaded guilty to participating in three separate conspiracies to fix the prices of TFT-LCD sold to Dell, Apple Computer Inc. and Motorola Inc. and was sentenced to pay a $120 million criminal fine. On Jan. 14, 2009, Chunghwa Picture Tubes pleaded guilty to participating in the same worldwide conspiracy as LG, and was sentenced to pay a $65 million criminal fine, the DoJ said.