EU: Cement antitrust probe closed

Lafarge Holcim the cement maker formed this month in a Franco-Swiss tie-up, won an five-year long antitrust fight with the European Union after regulators dropped a price-fixing probe for lack of evidence.

Cemex SAB, the largest cement maker in the Americas, and Germany’s HeidelbergCement AG were also among producers let off after a fruitless probe that went as far as the bloc’s top courts in Luxembourg.

“The evidence obtained in the commission’s investigation was not sufficiently conclusive to confirm these initial concerns,” the European Commission said in an e-mailed statement. The regulator said it “will continue to monitor closely developments in the European cement markets.”

Six companies, including Mexican producer Cemex and Buzzi Unicem SpA last year lost challenges at the EU General Court in Luxembourg against the EU’s “fishing expedition” for what they claimed was unnecessary information in its probe.

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