Intel faces yet another EU antitrust fine despite court win last year

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Intel could face yet another EU antitrust fine despite winning its court fight last year against a 1.06 billion

euro ($1.2 billion) penalty imposed 14 years ago for hindering a rival, the U.S. chipmaker said in a regulatory filing.

Intel last year convinced Europe’s second-top court to scrap the fine handed out by the European Commission in 2009 for giving rebates to four computer makers to buy most of their chips from the company and not from rival Advanced Micro Devices.

“The General Court’s January 2022 decision did not annul the EC’s 2009 finding that Intel made payments to prevent sales of specific rival products, and in January 2023 the EC reopened its administrative procedure to determine a fine against Intel based on that alleged conduct,” the company said in a Jan. 26 filing.

“Given the procedural posture and the nature of this proceeding, we are unable to make a reasonable estimate of the potential loss or range of losses, if any, that might arise from this matter,” it said.

Companies risk fines up to 10% of their global turnover for EU antitrust breaches.

($1 = 0.9217 euros)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens)