INTC: Intel Loses Long-Fought Battle Against $1.4B EU Fine

by Christopher Freeburn | June 12, 2014 11:36 am

On Thursday, Europe’s General Court ruled in favor of the European Commission (EC), upholding a $1.44 billion antitrust fine[1] against Intel (INTC[2]).

INTC had battled the hefty fine in European courts since the EC handed it down in 2009. The EC imposed the fine after finding that INTC had improperly awarded rebates to major personal computer producers to entice them to INTC chips instead of purchasing chips from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD[4]). Additionally, the EC found that INTC gave financial compensation to German retailer to avoid stocking personal computers containing chips made by rivals, Reuters notes.

The General Court ruled that the EC had “demonstrated to the requisite legal standard that Intel attempted to conceal the anti-competitive nature of its practices and implemented a long term comprehensive strategy to foreclose AMD from the strategically most important sales channels.”

INTC can appeal the General Court’s decision — which ran 300 pages — to the Court of Justice of the European Union. An INTC spokesperson said the chip-maker was “disappointed about the decision.” INTC is “evaluating” the ruling and did not indicate if it would appeal.

Intel stock slipped slightly in Thursday morning trading, while AMD shares climbed almost 2%. INTC stock closed at $27.93 per share on Wednesday.

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Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2014/06/intc-intel-loses-long-fought-battle-1-4b-eu-fine/

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