The European competition watchdog said Wednesday it had settled a cartel case against producers of household and commercial refrigeration compressors, used in fridges, freezers, vending machines and ice-cream coolers.

The European Commission said it would fine the four companies involved, ACC, Danfoss, Embraco and Panasonic (PC) a total of EUR161.2 million.

A fifth company that participated in the cartel, Tecumseh (TECUA), acted as a whistleblower and secured immunity under EU legislation.

"I want to send a message to everybody that the Commission's dedicated cartelbusters continue to detect, hunt down and punish cartels. At a time of economic hardship it is all the more important to promote fair competition and step up the fight against cartels which inflict serious damage on productivity and economic growth," said Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia in a written statement.

-By Matina Stevis, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 (0)2 741 1 483; matina.stevis@dowjones.com

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