On December 13, 2024, the Austrian competition authority, known as BWB, filed a request for a ruling against ABO Asphalt-Bau Oeynhausen GmbH at the cartel court. This action follows a series of investigations into the company's practices.

The cartel court determined that ABO participated in a continuous and coordinated violation of competition law in Lower Austria and Burgenland from at least July 2002 to May 2017. The violations included illegal price agreements, market allocations, and the exchange of sensitive information with competitors regarding public and private tenders in the construction sector.

This ruling is now final, and ABO is currently undergoing liquidation, which will soon result in the loss of its legal status. According to ABO, there will be no overall legal succession. Additionally, two parent companies, PORR AG and STRABAG SE, have already faced fines, and ongoing proceedings are in place against them.

ABO cooperated with the BWB outside of the leniency program, providing a comprehensive acknowledgment of the facts in the proceedings before the cartel court. The cartel uncovered affects the entire Austrian construction industry, impacting both public and private clients across numerous construction projects.

Investigations are still ongoing, with some cases already concluded. The collusion involved agreements among participating companies to assist each other in securing contracts, thereby maintaining market shares and ensuring capacity utilization. This was achieved through price-fixing, market division, and the exchange of competitively sensitive information, including coordination on future bidding behavior and the formation of illegal bidding alliances.

For further information and updates on the construction cartel, refer to the FAQ Baukartell Update April 2025.

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