In line with the regional focus of their activities, the companies were directly involved to varying degrees in illegal price fixing and price coordination, as well as the exchange of information with competitors in relation to public and private tenders in the field of civil engineering in the province of Burgenland, at various different times.
These direct illegal acts form part of a wider infringement of cartel law that has occurred across the whole of Austria. The overall infringement was aimed at reducing or excluding competition, with the companies concerned helping each other to win construction contracts and thus secure market shares.
The specific acts by the mentioned companies infringing cartel law were exclusively related to civil engineering projects in Burgenland. The respective initiator in each case colluded bilaterally with the companies involved, furnishing them with bogus offers, which those companies then submitted in their own name to the client. The bogus offers were designed to ensure that the project would be awarded to a previously determined bidder, which was almost never one of the companies referred to here. This meant that the companies involved were able to reduce the time and money needed to prepare offers while guaranteeing that they would receive future invitations from the contracting authorities.
All of the mentioned companies were considered as joint participants owing to the relatively low number of cases and the limited nature of the infringement in terms of both geographical area and time period.
The six companies cooperated with the AFCA outside the leniency programme to fully clarify the facts of the case, each of them acknowledging the infringement for use in proceedings before the Cartel Court. The AFCA applied for reduced fines considering their joint participation, comparably small company size and respective economic strength. Specifically, the AFCA applied for a fine of EUR 26,000 on Eibel, EUR 115,000 on GS-Bau, EUR 45,000 on Kienzl, EUR 90,000 on Neumayer, EUR 495,000 on Pfnier and EUR 140,000 on Schwartz-Bau.
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. A large number of construction projects were impacted, which is why the AFCA’s 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.
The companies involved also agreed on which bidder should win each contract, the price to be offered and the submission of bogus offers, as well as arranging that certain competitors would not submit any bid at all.
FAQ Construction cartel update April 2025
For further information on and developments in the construction cartel, please refer to our FAQ Construction cartel update April 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.