The Competition Authority fined Santerne Nord Tertiaire, a subsidiary of the Vinci group, up to 435,000 euros for exchanging information with another company during a call for tenders organized by the urban community of Lille, a she announced Thursday.
The Competition Authority imposed "
jointly and severally a sanction of 435,000 euros on the company Santerne Nord Tertiaire and on several companies of the Vinci group for having implemented a concerted practice aimed at distorting competition
", she said. indicated in a press release.
Read also: Construction: Vinci saw its net profit fall by 61.9% in 2020
Contacted by AFP, the Vinci group did not react immediately.
The Authority accuses Santerne of having "
participated in the exchange of information with another candidate company, Neu, with a view to the award of the maintenance and transformation contract for the technical management installations of buildings in Lille metropolis urban community
" .
The exchanges between the two companies "
concerned significant elements of the market
", according to the
press
release, citing "
the price of the most important equipment and materials and the content of the technical offer
".
The Authority considers that the filing of two separate bids, "
apparently independent, led to mislead the client as to the intensity of the competition which was exerted between the candidates
", for these calls for tenders launched. in 2013 and 2014.
The decision was issued following "
a refusal to enter into a transaction on the part of the Santerne company
" which led to the referral to the Competition Authority, the
press
release said.
