The European Commission has fined Canon Inc. €28 million ($32 million) for implementing its acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems Corp. (TMSC) before getting regulatory approval.

The Commission found that the Japanese company had started the acquisition of TSMC before notifying regulators of its intention to acquire TMSC through what is known as a "warehousing" transaction involving an interim buyer.

This involved having the buyer acquire 95% of the shares of TMSC for €800, while Canon paid €5.28 billion for the remaining 5% of shares and options to acquire the other shares. Canon acquired 100% of the shares in a later transaction.