The European Commission has fined General Electric Co. €52 million ($58.6 million) for providing false information during an investigation into the company's planned takeover of a Danish wind turbine blade maker.

The move marks the second time the commission has fined a U.S.-based company for providing false information during a merger investigation. In May 2017, the commission fined Facebook €110 million for failing to provide accurate information during the 2014 investigation of its acquisition of WhatsApp.

"Our merger assessment and decision-making can only be as good as the information that we obtain to support it," Margrethe Vestager, the head of the EU's antitrust department, said in a statement. "Accurate information is essential for the commission to take competition decisions in full knowledge of the facts. The fine imposed today on General Electric is proof that the commission takes breaches of the obligation for companies to provide us with correct information very seriously."

In 2017, GE told the commission, which was investigating the company's planned acquisition of LM Wind Power, that it was only developing six-megawatt offshore turbines – nothing with a higher output. The commission, the EU's antitrust authority, discovered that this was not true, and that the company was, in fact, offering customers 12-megawatt offshore wind turbines.

GE then withdrew its notification to acquire LM Wind in February 2017 and submitted a new notification to the commission with complete information.

The commission approved the merger in March 2017. Then in July 2017, it charged GE with failing to comply with its obligations to provide accurate information under EU merger control rules.

Under EU competition rules, the commission can fine a company up to 1 percent of its global turnover if it fails to provide accurate information about planned mergers and acquisitions.

Boston-based GE said it was reviewing the decision. It has not yet said whether it will appeal the ruling in the EU courts.