Six producers and sellers of Norwegian salmon, alongside some of their subsidiaries, have reached a US$ 85 million settlement in a class action in the United States over claims of anti-competitive behaviour.
The companies, including Mowi, SalMar, Lerøy and Grieg maintain that there is no basis for the claim, which dates back three years, and consider the complaints to be entirely unsubstantiated.
However, following a mandatory mediation procedure, they have accepted a settlement offer from the direct purchaser plaintiffs subject to approval by the court of Southern District of Florida.
In a statement filed with the Oslo Stock Exchange, SalMar said, “All defendants expressly reject the allegations regarding anti-competitive behaviour and strongly believe that the antitrust claims lack merit.
“Given that the costs of litigation in the US are substantial, coupled with the timeline for any litigation and required engagement of extensive internal resources, SalMar ASA has nonetheless agreed to a settlement for pure commercial purposes. The settlement does not involve any admission of liability or wrongdoing.”
Mowi, Lerøy and Grieg have issued very similar statements.
The original lawsuit filed in April 2019 alleged that the companies exchanged competitively sensitive information among themselves, with the aim of artificially controlling the price of farm-raised salmon bought by seafood buyers in the US.
This lawsuit was largely based on a European Commission investigation into suspected anti-competitive practices in Europe’s farmed Atlantic salmon sector that came to light in February that year.
The EU investigation, which is still ongoing, saw Scottish and Dutch offices of Mowi, Grieg, Lerøy and SalMar raided by Commission officials.
Some of the companies face similar allegations in Canada.
