Taiwan's AU Optronics (AUO) said Thursday it would appeal against a fine imposed by the European Commission for price-fixing of LCD flat screens for Europe's TVs and computers.
AUO said it was planning to file an appeal against the fine of 116.8 million euros (155 million dollars) in the General Court in Luxembourg in a statement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
It expected the legal process to take at least two years and added that the European decision was not expected to affect its operations.
The European Commission on Wednesday slapped fines totalling 649 million euros (860 million dollars) on AUO, Taiwan's Chimei InnoLux Corporation, Chunghwa Picture Tubes, HannStar Display Corporation, and South Korea's LG Display.
The other Taiwanese firms said they were considering whether to appeal while the fines were not expected to have any major impact on their operations.
Europe's competition watchdog accused the firms of running a cartel between October 2001 and February 2006 that fixed prices, harming European buyers of televisions and computers equipped with liquid crystal displays.
The companies held monthly meetings to agree on price ranges and minimum prices, and traded information on future production planning, capacity utilisation, pricing and other commercial conditions, the commission said.
The leader in the LCD business, South Korea's Samsung Electronics, was also accused of being part of the cartel but escaped cash sanctions for coming forward first with information on the alleged scheme.
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