Bayer guilty, fined $33 million

Bayer Corporation, the Pittsburgh subsidiary of German firm Bayer, has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $33 million criminal fine for participating in a conspiracy to fix the price of a chemical used in a number of consumer products, including plastic grocery bags, shoe soles and automotive parts.

Polyester polyols are used in automotive coatings, filters, belts, seals and gaskets, adhesives, sound-proofing products, and textiles. The chemical involved in the Bayer case, aliphatic polyester polyol made from adipic acid, is added to other chemicals to improve tensile strength and resistance to abrasion.

According to a one-count felony charge filed in the US District Court in San Francisco, Bayer Corporation conspired from 1998 to 2002 with an unnamed producer and unnamed individuals to suppress and eliminate competition in the United States for aliphatic polyester polyols made from adipic acid.

Under a plea agreement, which must be approved by the court, Bayer Corporation has agreed to assist the government in its ongoing investigation.

The charge is the result of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division's San Francisco Field Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Francisco.