Overview

• The Bundeskartellamt imposed a €6 million fine on Sennheiser and Sonova's German subsidiary for illegal price-fixing practices dating back to at least 2015.
• Sennheiser systematically monitored dealers’ resale prices using specialized software and pressured them to align with its suggested retail prices.
• Employees received antitrust training but exploited that knowledge to disguise and perpetuate the unlawful pricing scheme.
• The illegal practices continued under Sonova’s ownership of Sennheiser’s consumer division in 2022 until a September 2022 raid by the Bundeskartellamt.
• Sennheiser cooperated fully with the investigation, which influenced the final penalty, while no fines were issued against participating dealers.