Norway’s competition watchdog has imposed a combined fine of Nkr4.9bn ($465m) on the country’s three largest grocery store chains for violating antitrust regulations, Reuters reported.

The regulator found that the chains’ practices may have led to higher consumer prices.

The Norwegian Competition Authority’s decision, which was in line with a preliminary ruling earlier this year, accuses the chains of engaging in 'illegal collaboration' that weakened competition.

The authority’s director general, Tina Soereide, stated that consumers may have experienced higher prices as a result of these practices.

According to the news agency, the three companies - NorgesGruppen, Rema, and Coop - strongly denied any wrongdoing and have announced plans to appeal the ruling.

The case reportedly centred on the companies’ use of 'price hunters' to monitor rivals’ stores and share information about their pricing strategies.

Reuters noted while the companies argued that this practice, to the contrary, fostered competition, the regulator determined that it instead 'stifled corporate rivalry.'

Norgesgruppen, the largest retailer in Norway, was fined Nkr2.3bn.

Rema and Coop, meanwhile, were each fined Nkr1.3bn.

Coop expressed its incomprehension of the ruling in a statement.

This is not the first time the Norwegian Competition Authority has taken action against these grocery chains.

In 2020, the authority proposed record fines totalling Nkr21bn, alleging that the companies had engaged in anticompetitive practices that inflated prices.

However, the authority later reduced the proposed penalty to Nkr4.9bn after concluding that the infringement was less severe than initially thought.