DRAM makers get 331 million EUR fine

Ten producers of memory chips – including Samsung, Infineon, Hynix and Toshiba – are to pay a total €331m ($409m) in fines, in the first settlement deal over cartel offences with the European competition authorities.

Nine of the companies have had their fines reduced by 10 per cent, because of their willingness to acknowledge their participation in the cartel, which operated for almost four years between 1998 and 2002.

A tenth company – Micron – will pay no fine at all because it blew the whistle on the illegal price-fixing arrangements.