Pusiol participated directly - in accordance with the regional focus of the company's activities - in price-fixing or price-fixing agreements, market sharing and information exchange with competitors in relation to public and private construction tenders in Lower Austria in violation of antitrust law.
Pusiol's direct antitrust violations are part of an infringement affecting the entire Austrian federal territory, in which the companies involved participated to varying degrees (in terms of time and space). The agreed construction projects concerned both civil engineering and building construction, with road construction playing a particularly important role. The aim of these practices was to minimize or exclude competition in order to help each other win contracts and thus secure market share. An application has now been made to the Cartel Court to impose a fine of EUR 130,000 on Pusiol due to its participation as a secondary party.
Pusiol cooperated with the Federal Competition Authority outside the leniency program to fully clarify the facts of the case and in this context made a comprehensive admission for the proceedings before the Cartel Court. The AFCA therefore applied for a reduced fine. The economic capacity was also taken into account when calculating the fine.
Background
The uncovered cartel relates to the economic sector of construction.
The infringement covers the entire Austrian territory, albeit to varying degrees depending on the company involved. Both public and private clients were affected by these practices, as were a large number of construction projects. The investigations are still ongoing. Some of the proceedings have meanwhile been finally concluded.
The companies involved in the infringement engaged in concerted action in order to help each other to win construction contracts, thereby securing market shares and utilising their capacities accordingly. To reach this common goal, they engaged in illegal price fixing and market divisions, exchanged competitively sensitive information – relating for example to agreements on future behaviour when submitting bids – and in some cases formed anti-competitive working groups and bidding consortia.
FAQ Construction cartel update July 2025
For further information on and developments in the construction cartel, please refer to our FAQ Construction cartel update July 2025.
Fines for cartels
The Federal Cartel Act prohibits any behaviour that prevents or distorts competition. This covers price fixing agreements or the division of markets or territories. At the AFCA’s request, the Cartel Court may impose fines of up to 10% of an entity’s total turnover generated in the preceding business year if that entity is found to have breached the rules banning cartels. Fines are determined on the basis of the gravity and duration of the breach, the degree of fault, and the economic strength and cooperation of the company concerned.