In a deal with antitrust investigators, LG, Sharp, and Chunghwa will pay a combined $585 million in fines on charges they kept prices for LCDs artificially high. That's price-fixing, a big deal in a $70 billion industry.

The victims: Consumers of everything from TVs to cell phones, but also downstream vendors like Apple (AAPL), Motorola (MOT), and Dell (DELL).

What exactly did the companies do? The U.S. Deptartment of Justice lays out its case:

LG and Chunghwa are charged with carrying out the conspiracy by:

Participating in meetings, conversations, and communications in Taiwan, Korea and the United States to discuss the prices of TFT-LCD panels;

Agreeing during those meetings, conversations and communications to charge prices of TFT-LCD panels at certain pre-determined levels;

Issuing price quotations in accordance with the agreements reached; and

Exchanging information on sales of TFT-LCD panels, for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon prices.

Sharp is charged with participating in three separate conspiracies, to fix the price of TFT-LCD panels sold to Dell, Motorola and Apple by:

Participating in bilateral meetings, conversations, and communications in Japan and the United States to discuss the prices of TFT-LCD panels to be sold to Dell, Apple and Motorola;

Agreeing during those bilateral meetings, conversations and communications to charge prices of TFT-LCD panels at certain pre-determined levels to Dell, Apple and Motorola;

Issuing price quotations in accordance with the agreements reached; and

Exchanging information on sales of TFT-LCD panels to be sold to Dell, Apple and Motorola, for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon prices.

LG pays $400 million alone, the second largest antitrust fine ever imposed.

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