Panasonic, Whirlpool settle price-fixing case

Panasonic Corp. and a Whirlpool Corp. unit agreed to plead guilty and pay $140.9 million in fines in a price-fixing case, the U.S. Justice Department said.

The $91.8 million fine of Suwanee, Georgia-based Embraco North America Inc., the Whirlpool unit, resulted in Whirlpool lowering its earnings estimate to $7.80 to $8.30 a share for 2010. The company had predicted earnings of $9 to $9.50 a share, according to a company statement.

In a statement, Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic said its $49.1 million fine wouldn't have a "material effect" on the fiscal year that ends March 31.

Panasonic and Embraco conspired to fix prices for refrigerant compressors in the U.S. and elsewhere, the Justice Department said yesterday in a press release. The compressors pump high-pressure vapor that cools refrigerators and freezers.

Christine Varney, who heads the department's antitrust division, said the plea agreement resolves the first charges brought in a broader investigation into the refrigerant compressors market.

"The DOJ recognized Embraco's substantial assistance in the investigation and agreed not to bring further charges against Embraco or any related entities for any conspiracy involving compressor pricing," Whirlpool said in a regulatory filing.