10/16/2019 Europe fines Qualcomm $270 million for 'predatory pricing' - CNN

Europe fines Qualcomm $270 million for

'predatory pricing'
By Michael Scaturro, CNN Business
Updated 1126 GMT (1926 HKT) July 18, 2019

London (CNN Business) — Europe has hit Qualcomm with a €242 million ($271 million) fine, saying the US chipmaker
used "predatory pricing" to drive a competitor out of the market for 3G phone hardware.

"Qualcomm sold these products at a price below cost to key customers with the intention of eliminating a
competitor," said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission's top antitrust o cial.

The Commission said that Qualcomm was able to gain about a 60% share of the market by undercutting a UK rival
called Icera.

The main infraction, which occurred between 2009 and 2011, entailed Qualcomm selling components for 3G
smartphones below cost to Chinese cell phone makers Huawei and ZTE.

Qualcomm (QCOM) said it would appeal the decision, which it described as "meritless."

"The Commission spent years investigating sales to two customers, each of whom said that they favored
Qualcomm chips not because of price but because rival chipsets were technologically inferior," general counsel
Don Rosenberg said in a statement. "This decision is unsupported by the law, economic principles or market
facts."

US chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) bought Icera in 2011, and would

later sue Qualcomm, saying the company's practices drove
Icera out of the marketplace.

This isn't the first time Europe has fined Qualcomm. In 2018,
the European Union levied a €997 million ($1.1 billion) fine
against Qualcomm, alleging it paid key customers to sign
exclusivity agreements.

China's anti-monopoly bureau also fined Qualcomm $975

million in 2015 for violating its antitrust laws.

Related Article: Amazon is the latest target
of Europe's crackdown on the power of big
tech
Europe has emerged as a key battleground for tech because
of its tough rules on data protection, hate speech, taxation
and competition issues. Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN)
Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) have all come under
scrutiny.

The Commission is investigating Amazon over its use of data

from independent sellers. Google has been fined €8.2 billion ($9.2 billion) in total by Europe since 2017.

Vestager previously examined Apple's purchase of music app Shazam but eventually approved the deal. And in
2016, the European Union ordered Apple to repay €13 billion ($14.6 billion) in tax breaks to Ireland.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission is investigating Facebook over data breaches and other issues.

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10/16/2019 Europe fines Qualcomm $270 million for 'predatory pricing' - CNN

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