Intel scores major win as court scraps $1.2 bln EU antitrust fine

By
Jan 26 (Reuters) - Intel on Wednesday won its fight against a 1.06-billion-euro ($1.2 billion) EU antitrust fine that the U.S. chipmaker was handed 12 years ago for stifling a rival, in a major setback for EU antitrust regulators.
The judgment by Europe's second-top court in support of Intel's arguments is likely to cheer Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tabunit Google in its fight against hefty EU antitrust fines and Apple, Amazon and Facebook, which are in the EU antitrust enforcer's crosshairs.
The European Commission penalised Intel in 2009 for trying to block rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), opens new tab by giving rebates to computer makers Dell (DI.UL), Hewlett-Packard Co, NEC (6701.T), opens new tab and Lenovo (0992.HK), opens new tab for buying most of their chips from Intel.
The Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe's second-highest, criticised the EU competition enforcer's analysis and annulled the fine.
"The (European) Commission's analysis is incomplete and does not make it possible to establish to the requisite legal standard that the rebates at issue were capable of having, or likely to have, anticompetitive effects," judges said.
The court annulled the entire article of the contested decision which imposed a fine of 1.06 billion euros on Intel for the infringement.
The Commission said it would study the judgment and reflect on the possible next steps.
Item 1 of 2 The Intel Corporation logo is seen on a display in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD
[1/2]The Intel Corporation logo is seen on a display in a store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
The same court had in 2014 upheld the Commission's 2009 decision but was subsequently told by the EU Court of Justice, Europe's highest, in 2017 to reexamine Intel's appeal.
Regulators generally do not like rebates, especially those offered by dominant companies, on concerns they may be anti-competitive. Companies, however, say regulators must prove rebates have anti-competitive effects before sanctioning them.
The ruling will complicate the regulator's task, said Assimakis Komninos, a partner at law firm White & Case.
"This is a huge victory for Intel. It sets the bar higher for the Commission in bringing dominance cases. It will have to do an effects-based analysis for each case. This will have an impact on all companies," he said.
The ruling can be appealed to the CJEU.
The case is T-286/09 P Intel Corporation v Commission.
($1 = 0.8861 euros)

Sign up here.

Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Louise Heavens and Bernadette Baum

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Purchase Licensing Rights

Thomson Reuters

An agenda-setting and market-moving journalist, Foo Yun Chee is a 20-year veteran at Reuters. Her stories on high profile mergers have pushed up the European telecoms index, lifted companies' shares and helped investors decide on their move. Her knowledge and experience of European antitrust laws and developments helped her broke stories on Microsoft, Google, Amazon, numerous market-moving mergers and antitrust investigations. She has previously reported on Greek politics and companies, when Greece's entry into the eurozone meant it punched above its weight on the international stage, as well as Dutch corporate giants and the quirks of Dutch society and culture that never fail to charm readers.

Read Next