Rexel SA said Friday that one of its business units has been placed under formal investigation for an alleged breach of French competition rules governing prices.
The company RXL,
It comes after Schneider Electric SE SU,
The indictments follow an investigation into the companies’ practices carried out in 2018 by a judge and France’s competition regulator. In July, the three companies received a notice from the French competition watchdog alleging a potential breach of competition rules.
“The investigating judge decided to indict Schneider Electric and to require the company to provide a bank guarantee of EUR20 million and a cash guarantee of EUR80 million to be paid in January 2023,” Schneider Electric said.
In a separate statement, Legrand said one of its units was indicted and ordered to provide EUR80.5 million in security.
The three companies said that the indictments aren’t proof of wrongdoing, and that they intend to defend themselves.
Write to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com