The Bundeskartellamt, Germany's competition authority, has imposed fines totaling almost 6 million euros on Sennheiser electronic SE & Co. KG and Sonova Consumer Hearing Sales Germany GmbH, along with three employees, due to their involvement in vertical price fixing. This practice involved manipulating retail prices for premium headphones, significantly hindering price competition and harming consumers.

Sennheiser, known for its high-quality audio products, sold its consumer electronics division to Sonova in March 2022. However, the price-fixing practices continued until September 2022, after the acquisition. The investigation was initiated following a request for assistance from the Austrian competition authority and a dawn raid conducted by the Bundeskartellamt.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, emphasized that illegal cartels are not limited to agreements at the same market level, but also include arrangements between manufacturers and retailers that fix retail prices. Sennheiser's actions included monitoring end consumer prices and intervening to ensure retailers raised their prices, undermining free pricing in the market.

Since at least 2015, Sennheiser employees had been coordinating with authorized dealers to set end consumer sales prices, often leading to price increases. The retailers' prices were monitored through online services and software, and Sennheiser used coded language to discuss these concerted measures. After Sonova's acquisition, similar practices continued until the dawn raid.

The Bundeskartellamt considered the cooperation of Sennheiser and Sonova during the investigation when determining the fines. A settlement was reached, and the fines imposed are final. Notably, the authority decided not to impose fines on the retailers involved in the price-fixing scheme.

A detailed case summary will be published on the Bundeskartellamt's website in accordance with Section 53(5) of the German Competition Act.