Metair's Romanian Unit Begins €20M Cartel Settlement After EU Probe Loss

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Rombat, the Romanian battery manufacturer owned by Johannesburg-listed Metair Investments, has made its first payment toward a €20.218 million fine, roughly $24 million, imposed by the European Commission following a seven-year investigation into pricing coordination among starter-battery manufacturers. The payment opens a prolonged and costly chapter for the South African parent.

The enforcement structure places Metair directly in the Commission’s crosshairs. Metair and an intermediate holding company are jointly and severally liable for €11.557 million of Rombat’s total penalty, meaning the Commission can pursue that portion from the parent companies if the Romanian subsidiary cannot meet its obligations. That creates a direct claim on Metair’s balance sheet, independent of Rombat’s own payment capacity.

The payment schedule was not voluntary. An EU court rejected Rombat and Metair’s request to suspend enforcement while the companies pursue their substantive appeal. Specialist legal publication Takyon reported that the General Court found the companies had not demonstrated the urgency or likelihood of serious irreparable harm necessary to halt payment during the appeal. The Commission’s schedule therefore remained in force, even though the underlying infringement decision is still being contested.

What the Commission found: Rombat, Exide, FET, and their industry association had coordinated pricing through a mechanism tied to lead costs, allowing manufacturers to pass increased input expenses to vehicle makers while holding coordinated commercial positions. Rombat secured a 30 percent reduction for cooperating with the investigation, bringing its individual penalty to €20.218 million. Total cartel fines across all defendants reached approximately €72 million.

The Commission permitted Rombat to spread the penalty across 51 monthly instalments rather than pay in a lump sum. The original schedule called for an opening instalment of approximately €4.2 million, with subsequent payments carrying interest at the European Central Bank’s rate plus 1.5 percentage points. Metair has not disclosed whether the first payment came from Rombat’s operating cash or was funded by the South African parent, a distinction that matters: it signals either the subsidiary’s financial resilience or the parent’s appetite to absorb the cost directly.

Meanwhile, the appeal could run for as long as two years by Metair’s own assessment. The court’s refusal to suspend payment did not touch the substance of the infringement challenge. A successful appeal could reduce or reverse some portion of the penalty. Failure leaves the remaining instalments and accumulated interest due in full.

For Metair shareholders and creditors, the €11.557 million joint liability is a contingent obligation that is already being tested in real time. The appeal offers a route to cost reduction, but the court’s decision to keep payments running signals that the financial exposure is neither theoretical nor distant. Whether Rombat’s cash generation proves sufficient to cover the remaining instalments, or whether Metair’s own balance sheet absorbs the shortfall, will determine how material this liability ultimately becomes for investors watching from Johannesburg.

More information on the case is available at https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/markets/south-african-auto-parts-group-starts-paying-dollar24-million-european-battery-cartel/t8sl8g7.