The European Commission has fined General Electric €52 million for providing incorrect information during the Commission's investigation under the EU Merger Regulation of GE's planned acquisition of LM Windpower.
On 11 January 2017, GE notified its proposed acquisition of LM Windpower. In this notification, GE stated that it did not have any higher power output wind turbine for offshore applications in development, beyond its existing 6MW turbine. However, through information collected from a third party, the Commission found that GE was simultaneously offering a 12MW offshore wind turbine to potential customers.
As a result on 2 February 2017, GE withdrew its notification of the acquisition of LM Wind. On 13 February 2017 GE re-notified the same transaction, this time including complete information on its future project. On 20 March 2017, the Commission approved the proposed acquisition.
The Commission's investigation has confirmed that, contrary to GE's statements in its first notification in January 2017, GE had indeed been offering a higher power output offshore wind turbine to potential customers. As a result, GE's statement in the notification form that it had no higher power output wind turbines for offshore in development is incorrect.
The decision has no impact on the Commission's approval of the transaction under EU merger rules, as this was based on rectified information from the second notification.