[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics said on Sept. 15 it plans to pay a fine of 541 million euros (US$645 million) levied by the European Commission for rigging prices on its cathode-ray tubes.

LG Electronics said its appeal of the EC’s fine was recently rejected by a European court.

In 2012, the European regulator fined LG and five other companies, including Philips and Panasonic, a total of 1.47 billion euros, claiming their executives colluded to fix prices in two global cartels between 1996 and 2006.

At that time, the commission slapped a 492 million-euro fine on LG, but the final amount includes the interest on its delayed payment.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)