Vienna, 28 August 2025 — Austria’s cartel court has imposed a fine of €330,000 on construction company Pfnier & Co GmbH after finding it engaged in illegal bid-rigging and market-sharing practices in the Burgenland region.
The penalty was issued at the request of the Federal Competition Authority (BWB) and relates to conduct between May 2012 and May 2017. According to the court, Pfnier coordinated with competitors on public and private tenders in the building construction sector, including through price-fixing, market allocation and the exchange of sensitive business information.
Although the company was not a leniency applicant, Pfnier cooperated extensively with investigators, admitted to the infringements and contributed to clarifying the facts of the case. In light of this cooperation, the BWB sought a reduced fine, which the court accepted. The decision is final.
The sanction is part of the BWB’s wide-ranging investigation into the so-called Baukartell—a construction sector cartel involving numerous companies across Austria. The authority’s probes have revealed collusion affecting both public and private projects nationwide, particularly in road construction. Several cases have already been concluded, but further proceedings remain pending.
According to the BWB, the cartelists colluded to divide markets and secure contracts by agreeing in advance who would win specific tenders, what prices would be submitted, and when “cover bids” or no bids at all should be made. In some cases, companies also formed unlawful bidding consortia.
Under Austrian competition law, the cartel court can impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s annual turnover for infringements such as price-fixing and market-sharing. The size of the sanction depends on the gravity and duration of the violation, the company’s culpability and financial capacity, and the extent of its cooperation.
The BWB continues to publish updates on its investigation, most recently in its Baukartell Update for August 2025.
