The European Commission said it provisionally found that ten construction chemical groups and three trade bodies operated a cartel to raise prices following the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Chemicals companies based across France, Germany and Spain, as well as trade bodies in each country, are suspected to have colluded to increase the price of chemicals used in cement, concrete and mortar, the commission said.

The charges follow a three-year investigation into alleged co-ordination of prices between 2021 and 2022, which would breach the bloc's competition rules, the commission said. The companies being investigated include New York-listed Cemex and the Swiss-listed Sika, as well as Chryso, which is owned by Paris-listed Saint-Gobain.

Mapei, Master Builders Solutions, MC Bauchemie, TAM Groupe, Ha-be, Germany's Liesen and Remei have also been placed under suspicion.