- Intel was found guilty of anti-competitive conduct between 2002 and 2006
- The initial fine was reduced from 1,060 million euros to 376 million euros, today 237 million euros.
- It’s unclear whether Intel will pay or plans to appeal again.
Intel lost the appeal against an EU antitrust ruling for anti-competitive conduct, but the 376 million euro fine originally set for 2023 was reduced by about 140 million euros to soften the blow, according to the statement. Reuters Relationship.
The new fine of €237 million was considered more proportionate to the scale and duration of the infringements.
This case specifically concerns payments Intel made to HP, Acer and Lenovo between 2002 and 2006 to delay or completely stop the use of AMD components in their devices.
EU antitrust fines for Intel reduced
Despite the reduced sentence, we cannot consider this as confirmation that the case is closed. In 2009, Intel was initially fined a much larger amount, namely 1.06 billion euros, but the fine was dismissed out of court in 2023, making the trial extremely long.
“The amount of 237,105,540 euros better reflects the seriousness and duration of the crime in question,” the Luxembourg court estimated.
By 2023, when the 2009 fine will be reduced to “just” 376.36 million euros, says Commissioner Didier Reynders. he said: “Our decision demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to ensuring that very serious violations of antitrust laws do not go unpunished.”
Intel’s payments to suppress AMD’s sales were classified as “pure restraints”, which the EU considers an “abuse of a dominant position”.
After a few tough years, declining sales, competition from Nvidia in the AI market and an investment of almost 9 billion dollars from the US government to support American manufacturing, Intel is now preparing the next generation of Panther Lake notebook processors (Intel Core Ultra Series 3), aimed at high-end AI computers.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan emphasized the importance of Panther Lake in “building a new Intel.”