Hitachi Settles Capacitors Antitrust Litigation in US

Hitachi Chemical Co Ltd has settled with classes of indirect purchaser plaintiffs and direct purchaser plaintiffs in relation to the civil lawsuit brought against it in US on grounds of violation of US antitrust law.

Purchasers of capacitors had filed a civil litigation claiming recovery of damages on grounds of alleged violation of US antitrust law in relation to allegations that Hitachi Chemical and its group companies participated in a cartel concerning capacitors.

Hitachi Chemical has considered various factors such as the effect of prolonged litigation upon its business and reached the decision that an early resolution by means of settlement with the classes of indirect purchaser plaintiffs and direct purchaser plaintiffs is the most beneficial strategy. Under the advice of external counsels, etc, it agreed to settle with the classes of indirect purchaser plaintiffs and direct purchaser plaintiffs on 21 July 2017 and 30 November 2017 respectively.

Outline of settlement

Hitachi Chemical shall pay $14 million to the class of indirect purchaser plaintiffs, and $63 million to the class of direct purchaser plaintiffs.

Impact on business performance

The payment accompanying the foregoing settlement has been recorded as expense, and there will be no new impact on our consolidated business performance forecast for fiscal year ending March 2018.