Vienna, 23 July 2025
Austria’s Cartel Court has imposed fines totaling €634,000 on Sennheiser and Sonova for engaging in illegal vertical price fixing related to the sale of Sennheiser-branded consumer audio products. The fines were issued at the request of the Federal Competition Authority (BWB) following an extensive investigation.
Sennheiser electronic SE & Co KG was fined €534,000, while Sonova AG received a €100,000 fine for their roles in coordinating resale prices with trading partners. The conduct, which took place between 2015 and 2022, was aimed at maintaining uniform retail prices for headphones, limiting price competition among resellers and undermining consumer choice.
According to the BWB, Sennheiser engaged in the anti-competitive conduct from May 2015 until February 2022. Sonova, which acquired Sennheiser’s Consumer Electronics division in a 2022 carve-out, continued the conduct from March to September of that year. Both companies entered into pricing agreements with downstream trading partners to stabilize retail prices—a clear violation of competition rules governing vertical relationships.
The investigation, launched in 2022, included coordinated searches of both companies’ premises in Germany, carried out with the support of the German Federal Cartel Office. After the raids, both Sennheiser and Sonova applied for leniency and cooperated fully with the authorities, which contributed to a reduction in the fines.
“The decision is legally binding and reinforces the prohibition of price coordination across supply chains,” said the BWB in its statement. “Such practices harm consumers by reducing competitive pressure on prices.”
Sennheiser is a globally recognized manufacturer of audio equipment. Its consumer headphone division was sold to Sonova, a Swiss-based hearing solutions provider, in a strategic business carve-out.
This case marks another enforcement milestone for the BWB, which continues to prioritize action against resale price maintenance and other vertical restraints.
