{"id":1449,"date":"2026-03-05T16:46:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T15:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/casi-studio\/il-cartello-del-cartone-ondulato\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T10:55:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T08:55:59","slug":"the-corrugated-cardboard-cartel","status":"publish","type":"casi_studio","link":"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/en\/case-studies\/the-corrugated-cardboard-cartel\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018Corrugated Cardboard\u2019 Cartel"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n\t<p>In antitrust law, private enforcement actions are civil proceedings brought by parties who have suffered harm as a result of an anti-competitive infringement (cartels, abuse of a dominant position, etc.) in order to obtain compensation for damages, independently and separately from the public enforcement action taken by the Competition Authority.<\/p>\r\nWhilst &#8216;public enforcement&#8217; refers to the activities carried out by the AGCM (or the European Commission) to establish the infringement and impose administrative sanctions, &#8216;private enforcement&#8217; refers to civil proceedings before the ordinary courts (in Italy, the specialised commercial divisions) through which businesses or consumers seek full compensation for the damage suffered as a result of the antitrust infringement.<br \/>\r\nThe two dimensions are complementary: the AGCM&#8217;s decision does not award damages, but constitutes a privileged evidential basis for subsequent civil actions. In this context, Litigation Funders may intervene, i.e. third parties who support the aggrieved companies in bearing legal costs, costs for economic expert reports, litigation expenses, etc., by assuming the Litigation Risk. Under the agreement entered into with the parties holding the right to bring the claim, in the event of a successful outcome, the litigation funders receive a share of the compensation.\r\n<p>In private antitrust enforcement, their role is particularly significant because cases are lengthy, costly and technically complex; they require sophisticated econometric analysis (e.g. cartel overcharge, pass-on) and, finally, the injured parties (SMEs, downstream customers, and sometimes consumers) often lack the resources or incentive to take action individually.<\/p>\r\n<p>The actions pursued by litigation funders in the field of antitrust law aim, in particular, to:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>establish the civil liability of the companies participating in the cartel;<\/li>\r\n<li>demonstrate the causal link between the unlawful agreement and the damage suffered;<\/li>\r\n<li>quantify the damage resulting from overcharging and, where applicable, loss of profit;<\/li>\r\n<li>obtain an order for compensation, including interest.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p>These are often follow-on actions, based therefore on a final decision by the AGCM or the European Commission, or aggregate or coordinated actions, brought by multiple claimants (including through special purpose vehicles or assignment of claims).<\/p>\r\n<section>\r\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/shutterstock_2642496937-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"The case\"\/>\r\n                                    <p>The case<\/p>\r\n                                    <p>Following a complaint lodged by the trade association of non-vertically integrated box manufacturers (ACIS) and the submission of a leniency application by companies within the DS Smith group, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), on 17 July 2019, at the conclusion of a complex investigation, identified two linked cartels involving unlawful collusion by certain suppliers\/manufacturers of corrugated board:<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<section>\r\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/imballaggi-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"CORRUGATED CARDBOARD PACKAGING\"\/>\r\n                                    <p>CORRUGATED CARDBOARD PACKAGING<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<section>\r\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cartone-2-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"CORRUGATED CARDBOARD SHEETS\"\/>\r\n                                    <p>CORRUGATED CARDBOARD SHEETS<\/p>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\t<p>This type of decision can serve as a suitable starting point for private enforcement actions, because:<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>the anti-competitive infringement has already been established at the administrative level;<\/li>\r\n<li>the customers of the firms involved (e.g. users of corrugated cardboard packaging) may claim to have paid artificially inflated prices over a specific period;<\/li>\r\n<li>the litigation focuses primarily on quantifying the damage, rather than on proving the infringement.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<section>\r\n                    <header>\r\n                                    <h2>Effects and Outcomes of the Preliminary Investigation<\/h2>\r\n                            <\/header>\r\n                                    <article>\r\n                                                    <p>287 Mln\/\u20ac<\/p>\r\n                                                    <p>Fines imposed<\/p>\r\n                                            <\/article>\r\n                                    <article>\r\n                                                    <p>21 su 25<\/p>\r\n                                                    <p>Decisions dismissing appeals lodged by the sign-makers<\/p>\r\n                                            <\/article>\r\n                                    <article>\r\n                                                    <p>15-30%<\/p>\r\n                                                    <p>Increase in costs<\/p>\r\n                                            <\/article>\r\n<\/section>\r\n<section>\r\n                    <header>\r\n                                                                <h2>Our contribution<\/h2>\r\n                                                                <p>LexCapital carries out the following activities:<\/p>\r\n                            <\/header>\r\n                                                        <article>\r\n                                                    <p>Identify the categories of injured parties<\/p>\r\n                    <\/article>\r\n                                    <article>\r\n                                                    <p>Assess the expected profitability of the action<\/p>\r\n                    <\/article>\r\n                                    <article>\r\n                                                    <p>Support the civil case<\/p>\r\n                    <\/article>\r\n                                    <article>\r\n                                                    <p>Coordinate a team of legal and economic advisers<\/p>\r\n                    <\/article>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\t<p>As for the affected companies, they compile a set of documents-primarily consisting of invoices and accounting records relating to the specified period-using a specific checklist.<\/p>\r\n<section>\r\n                    <header>\r\n                                                                <h2>Key benefits for affected businesses<\/h2>\r\n                                                                LexCapital covers all legal fees and technical consultancy costs, even in the event of an unfavourable outcome, and, only in the event of a successful outcome, receives a pre-agreed share of the financial benefit obtained by the client.\r\nNo payment is due to LexCapital should the litigation be unsuccessful.\r\nThe use of litigation funding services offers the following advantages:\r\n                            <\/header>\r\n                                                        <article>\r\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/icona.png\" alt=\"Greater organisational efficiency\"\/>\r\n                                                    <h3>Greater organisational efficiency<\/h3>\r\n                                                    <p>The company optimises its internal resources, freeing up some of them to redeploy them in other key areas that are essential to the pursuit of the company&#8217;s core business.<\/p>\r\n                    <\/article>\r\n                                    <article>\r\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/icona.png\" alt=\"Improvement in Net Financial Position (NFP)\"\/>\r\n                                                    <h3>Improvement in Net Financial Position (NFP)<\/h3>\r\n                                                    <p>Litigation funding enables companies to free up the financial resources tied up in managing litigation and to invest them in other activities. Furthermore, transferring the litigation claim allows any pending legal proceedings to be removed from the balance sheet, thereby reducing the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of a legal case.<\/p>\r\n                    <\/article>\r\n                                    <article>\r\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/icona-1.png\" alt=\"Improving business performance\r\n\"\/>\r\n                                                    <h3>Improving business performance\r\n<\/h3>\r\n                                                    <p>In larger companies, the use of litigation funding enables key managers to improve financial performance by reducing legal risks and provisions for potential legal costs, thereby boosting EBITDA.<\/p>\r\n                    <\/article>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\t<p>The parties concerned<\/p>\r\n<p>All companies that purchased corrugated cardboard packaging between 2004 and 2018 from manufacturers identified in the Antitrust Investigation. The full list is as follows:<\/p>\r\n<p>Smurfit Kappa; International Paper, Idealkart, Pro Gest Group (Pro Gest; Trevikart; Ondulati Maranello), Innova Group (Innova Group Caino Plant, Innova Group), Laveggia Group (Laveggia, Scatolificio Laveggia and Aliabox), DS Smith Group (DS Smith, DS Smith Holding, Toscana Ondulati), Ondulati ed Imballaggi del Friuli, Ondulato Piceno, ICOM, GIFCO, Sada Group, Saica, Mauro Benedetti, ICO, Grimaldi, MS Packaging.<\/p>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following a complaint lodged by the trade association of non-vertically integrated box manufacturers (ACIS) and the submission of a leniency application by companies within the DS Smith group, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), on 17 July 2019 identified two linked cartels involving unlawful collusion by certain suppliers\/manufacturers of corrugated board<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1119,"template":"","project_sett":[54],"class_list":["post-1449","casi_studio","type-casi_studio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","project_sett-antitrust","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/casi_studio\/1449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/casi_studio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/casi_studio"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"project_sett","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lexcapital.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project_sett?post=1449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}