Hitachi pleads guilty in US LCD price-fixing bust

This afternoon, the US Justice Dept. announced that Hitachi would be the fourth company to plead guilty in a TFT-LCD price fixing investigation that has already seen LG, Sharp (now becoming part of Panasonic), and Chunghwa pay collectively over half a billion dollars in fines.

Hitachi would pay the least of the four companies thus far: $31 million. In turn, the Antitrust Division said today, it will agree that it participated in meetings with representatives of its competitors in which they conspired to set the price that Dell Computer would be charged for TFT-LCD displays. From April 2001 through March 2004, Hitachi then quoted Dell the agreed upon prices, the DoJ said, and then reported its progress back to other cartel members.

The plea agreement is subject to court approval. However, the company that so far has paid the least in monetary penalties -- Chunghwa, at $65 million -- is paying the most in terms of hard time. Three Chunghwa executives were ordered to prison and to pay personal fines, including the former CEO, who was sentenced to nine months and a $50,000 fine.