EU Court To Rule June 12 On Intel Challenge To $1.5 Billion EU Fine

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe’s second-highest court will rule next month on U.S. chip maker Intel Corp’s challenge to a record 1.06-billion-euro ($1.47 billion / 869.7 million pounds) fine levied by EU antitrust regulators five years ago, a court official said on Tuesday.

The penalty, which represented 4.15 percent of Intel’s 2008 turnover versus a possible maximum of 10 percent, came after an eight-year investigation by the European Commission which decided Intel had engaged in anti-competitive practices to block a rival.

The European Union competition authority said at the time that Intel sought to thwart Advanced Micro Devices by giving rebates to PC makers Dell, Hewlett-Packard Co, Japan’s NEC and Lenovo for buying most of their computer chips from Intel.

The Commission said Intel also paid German retail chain Media Saturn Holding to stock only computers with its chips.

The Luxembourg-based General Court will rule on the case on June 12, a court official said. Intel, which can appeal to the EU Court of Justice following the judgement, wants its conviction and fine thrown out or reduced.

The case is T-286/09, Intel vs Commission.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)