Intel (INTC.O), an American chipmaker, was fined 376 million euros ($400 million) on Friday after an EU antitrust probe found that the company had engaged in anti-competitive activities for over two decades.
An earlier record fine of 1.06 billion euros was overturned by the General Court of Luxembourg in 2017 for the violation and additional conduct in 2009, making it the second-highest fine in Europe.
After the court agreed with the European Commission that Intel had unlawfully blocked competitors from entering the market, the EU antitrust authority reopened the issue.
A judge ruled 2009 that Intel had unlawfully hindered AMD.O, a competitor.
Intel was penalized again on Friday by the European Union’s antitrust regulator for payments made to HP (HPE.N), Acer (2353. TW), and Lenovo (0992. HK) between November 2002 and December 2006 to prevent or postpone the sale of rival products.
A statement from the European Commission reads, “The General Court confirmed that Intel’s naked restrictions amounted to an abuse of dominant market position under EU competition rules.”
Intel announced it was considering its options.
“We are analyzing the verdict and the fine amount to determine the possible reasons and the chances of success of an appeal to the European Courts,” the company added.
To build a chip manufacturing facility in Germany, Intel needs about 10 billion euros in state subsidies from the German government, which is now seeking Commission approval.
The Commission has appealed the remaining parts of the General Court’s judgment from last year regarding Intel’s conditional rebate offers to the EU Court of Justice, Europe’s highest court.
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