Latest news with #DanielBeard
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intel challenges EU over antitrust fine of $421.4m
US-based chipmaker Intel has commenced a legal battle with EU antitrust regulators regarding a €376m ($421.4m) fine that was imposed nearly two years ago, reported Reuters. Intel has contested the fine, arguing that it is both 'disproportionate and unfair'. The dispute stems from a 2009 European Commission ruling, which initially fined Intel a record €1.06bn for allegedly blocking competitor Advanced Micro Devices. Intel successfully appealed to the General Court, Europe's second-highest court, to have the penalty annulled in 2022. However, the judges upheld one aspect of the Commission's 2009 decision, leading to the re-imposition of the €376m fine for the specific infringements involving the three computer manufacturers. This new penalty was for Intel's payments to HP, Acer, and Lenovo, aimed at stopping or delaying the launch of rival products from November 2002 to December 2006, a practice known as naked restrictions and generally condemned by antitrust authorities. Intel has since returned to the General Court, seeking to have the latest EU decision and fine overturned. Intel lawyer Daniel Beard was cited by the news agency as saying that the EU competition enforcer failed to consider the limited nature of the violations, which only related to the companies HP, Acer, and Lenovo. Beard told the panel of three judges: 'The Commission cannot sustain a finding that there was an overall strategy to foreclose competitors from the entire x86 chips market. These were narrow, tactical moves. 'The naked restrictions can't be treated as in effect of equal weight to each of the pricing practices which were overturned. Nor do they have the same sort of cumulative effect or strategic weight. They, on their own, don't sustain an overall, market-wide strategy finding.' The EU's competition watchdog, however, rejected Intel's arguments against the fine. EU lawyer Pedro Caro de Sousa was quoted by the news agency as saying: 'The Commission correctly applied the finding guidelines, and when in doubt, opted in Intel's favour. 'The fine is clearly not disproportionate to the seriousness of Intel's conduct, amounting to 1% of its turnover on the last year of the infringement, and about 0.5% of its turnover today.' Intel and the European Commission have both appealed to the court to determine an appropriate amount for the fine. A decision from the court is anticipated in the forthcoming months, reported the news agency. "Intel challenges EU over antitrust fine of $421.4m" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intel Appeals EU Ruling, Seeks Further Fine Reduction
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is pushing back hard against a proposed 376 million EU antitrust fine, arguing the European Commission has overstated the scope of its 20022006 conduct. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 7 Warning Signs with INTC. The Commission first fined Intel 1.1 billion in 2009 for allegedly paying HP (NYSE:HPQ), Acer (ACEYY) and Lenovo (LNVGY) to sideline rival AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) chips, and while Intel won a partial reduction in 2022, today's appeal hearings focus on whether those agreements truly formed an overall strategy to block competitors. During Friday's session, Intel attorney Daniel Beard told the General Court that the Commission cannot treat isolated pricing practices and handset incentives as equally weighty or cumulatively strategic, and that the narrower naked restrictions should not carry the same penalty heft. Intel maintains its payments to OEMs addressed specific product launches rather than a blanket market foreclosure, and it is confident that judges will further trim the liability or overturn the fine entirely. Why It Matters: A final ruling could reshape EU tech-sector enforcement and remove a looming multi-hundred-million-dollar overhang on Intel's valuation. Investors will be watching the court's decision, expected in the coming months, for clues on regulatory risk and any impact on Intel's cash reserves. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Asharq Al-Awsat
16-05-2025
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Intel Spars with EU Regulators Over $421.4 Million Antitrust Fine
US chipmaker Intel on Friday sparred with EU antitrust regulators over a 376 million euro ($421.4 million) fine levied nearly two years ago for excluding rivals from the market, arguing that it was disproportionate and unfair. The case dates to 2009 when the European Commission slapped a then-record 1.06 billion euro fine on Intel for blocking rival Advanced Micro Devices. The tech giant managed to convince the General Court, Europe's second-highest, to scrap the penalty in 2022. Judges however agreed with one part of the Commission's 2009 decision, prompting the EU competition watchdog to re-impose a 376 million euro fine for payments made by Intel to HP, Acer and Lenovo to halt or delay rival products between November 2002 and December 2006. Such practices are known as naked restrictions and are frowned on by antitrust regulators. Intel then took its case back to the General Court, asking for the new EU decision and penalty to be annulled. Intel's lawyer said the EU competition enforcer had not taken into account the limited scope of the violations related to HP, Acer and Lenovo. "The Commission cannot sustain a finding that there was an overall strategy to foreclose competitors from the entire x86 chips market. These were narrow, tactical moves," Daniel Beard told the panel of five judges. "The naked restrictions can't be treated as in effect of equal weight to each of the pricing practices which were overturned. Nor do they have the same sort of cumulative effect or strategic weight. They, on their own, don't sustain an overall, market-wide strategy finding," he said. Beard said the Commission had imposed "a wholly disproportionate and unfair" fine. The EU watchdog rejected Intel's arguments. "The Commission correctly applied the finding guidelines, and when in doubt, opted in Intel's favor," its lawyer Pedro Caro de Sousa said. "The fine is clearly not disproportionate to the seriousness of Intel's conduct, amounting to 1% of its turnover on the last year of the infringement, and about 0.5% of its turnover today," he said. Both Intel and the Commission called on the court to resolve the issue by setting the size of the fine. A ruling is expected in the coming months. The case is 09:30 T-1129/23 Intel Corporation v Commission.
The Star
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Intel spars with EU regulators over $421.4 million antitrust fine
FILE PHOTO: The Intel Corporation logo is seen at a temporary office during the World Economic Forum 2022 (WEF) in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File photo LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) -U.S. chipmaker Intel on Friday sparred with EU antitrust regulators over a 376 million euro ($421.4 million) fine levied nearly two years ago for excluding rivals from the market, arguing that it was disproportionate and unfair. The case dated to 2009 when the European Commission slapped a then-record 1.06 billion euro fine on Intel for blocking rival Advanced Micro Devices. The tech giant managed to convince the General Court, Europe's second-highest, to scrap the penalty in 2022. Judges however agreed with one part of the Commission's 2009 decision, prompting the EU competition watchdog to re-impose a 376 million euro fine for payments made by Intel to HP, Acer and Lenovo to halt or delay rival products between November 2002 and December 2006. Such practices are known as naked restrictions and are frowned on by antitrust regulators. Intel then took its case back to the General Court, asking for the new EU decision and penalty to be annulled. Intel's lawyer said the EU competition enforcer had not taken into account the limited scope of the violations related to HP, Acer and Lenovo. "The Commission cannot sustain a finding that there was an overall strategy to foreclose competitors from the entire x86 chips market. These were narrow, tactical moves," Daniel Beard told the panel of five judges. "The naked restrictions can't be treated as in effect of equal weight to each of the pricing practices which were overturned. Nor do they have the same sort of cumulative effect or strategic weight. They, on their own, don't sustain an overall, market-wide strategy finding," he said. Beard said the Commission had imposed "a wholly disproportionate and unfair" fine. The EU watchdog rejected Intel's arguments. "The Commission correctly applied the finding guidelines, and when in doubt, opted in Intel's favour," its lawyer Pedro Caro de Sousa said. "The fine is clearly not disproportionate to the seriousness of Intel's conduct, amounting to 1% of its turnover on the last year of the infringement, and about 0.5% of its turnover today," he said. Both Intel and the Commission called on the court to resolve the issue by setting the size of the fine. A ruling is expected in the coming months. The case is 09:30 T-1129/23 Intel Corporation v Commission. ($1 = 0.8922 euros) (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Jan Harvey)
CNA
16-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
Intel spars with EU regulators over $421.4 million antitrust fine
LUXEMBOURG :U.S. chipmaker Intel on Friday sparred with EU antitrust regulators over a 376 million euro ($421.4 million) fine levied nearly two years ago for excluding rivals from the market, arguing that it was disproportionate and unfair. The case dated to 2009 when the European Commission slapped a then-record 1.06 billion euro fine on Intel for blocking rival Advanced Micro Devices. The tech giant managed to convince the General Court, Europe's second-highest, to scrap the penalty in 2022. Judges however agreed with one part of the Commission's 2009 decision, prompting the EU competition watchdog to re-impose a 376 million euro fine for payments made by Intel to HP, Acer and Lenovo to halt or delay rival products between November 2002 and December 2006. Such practices are known as naked restrictions and are frowned on by antitrust regulators. Intel then took its case back to the General Court, asking for the new EU decision and penalty to be annulled. Intel's lawyer said the EU competition enforcer had not taken into account the limited scope of the violations related to HP, Acer and Lenovo. "The Commission cannot sustain a finding that there was an overall strategy to foreclose competitors from the entire x86 chips market. These were narrow, tactical moves," Daniel Beard told the panel of five judges. "The naked restrictions can't be treated as in effect of equal weight to each of the pricing practices which were overturned. Nor do they have the same sort of cumulative effect or strategic weight. They, on their own, don't sustain an overall, market-wide strategy finding," he said. Beard said the Commission had imposed "a wholly disproportionate and unfair" fine. The EU watchdog rejected Intel's arguments. "The Commission correctly applied the finding guidelines, and when in doubt, opted in Intel's favour," its lawyer Pedro Caro de Sousa said. "The fine is clearly not disproportionate to the seriousness of Intel's conduct, amounting to 1 per cent of its turnover on the last year of the infringement, and about 0.5 per cent of its turnover today," he said. Both Intel and the Commission called on the court to resolve the issue by setting the size of the fine. A ruling is expected in the coming months. The case is 09:30 T-1129/23 Intel Corporation v Commission.
