MERCEDES-BENZ GROUP AG FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German truck maker MAN (>> Man SE) said on Wednesday it would not set aside any money to cover potential costs related to an antitrust investigation into the industry by the European Commission.
Earlier, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) said the Volkswagen-controlled (>> Volkswagen AG) company would not be fined in connection with the cartel investigation.
MAN would gain antitrust immunity as it approached authorities in 2010 with information that triggered the investigation, FAZ said, without citing sources.
MAN declined to comment on the report, with a spokesman saying only that its results would not be affected by any provisions related to the investigation.
The European Commission said last week it had sent formal charge sheets to several manufacturers it suspected of price-fixing, marking the next phase of a complex investigation that began with raids on a number of companies' headquarters in January 2011. [ID:nL6N0TA2SN]
Truck makers Volvo (>> Volvo AB) and Daimler (>> Daimler AG) have warned shareholders they may have to pay fines, with Volvo making a provision of 400 million euros (316 million pounds).
A Daimler spokeswoman said on Wednesday the amount of provisions was checked regularly, without giving details.
Companies can be fined up to 10 percent of their annual revenue if the Commission concludes there is sufficient evidence of an infringement of EU rules barring cartels and the abuse of market dominance.
MAN had to pay 150 million euros in fines to end a probe by prosecutors into suspected bribery to win business contracts about five years ago. In the wake of the scandal, the chief executive, finance chief and commercial vehicles head all stepped down.
(Reporting by Jan Schwartz and Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Mark Potter)
