Intel Corp raided on possible violations

COMPUTER chip maker Intel Corp, computer makers and distributors were raided by European Commission and local authorities on Tuesday as part of an investigation into possible antitrust violations, a spokesperson for the European Union executive said.

The commission’s escalation came as Intel’s smaller rival, Advanced Micro Devices, was trying to ratchet up pressure on the chip maker, which has 90% of world sales of microprocessors for personal computers that run Microsoft Windows and Linux.

EU “competition officials, accompanied by officials from national competition authorities, are conducting inspections of several premises of Intel Corp in Europe as well as a number of IT firms manufacturing or selling computers,” Commission spokesperson Jonathan Todd said.

“The investigations are being carried out within the framework of an ongoing competition case,” he added.

Intel confirmed the raids and said that it was cooperating fully with the Commission. It is understood that none of Intel’s Irish facilities, where more than 5,000 people are employed, were raided.

“As is our normal practice, we are fully cooperating with authorities from the EU. Beyond that, we can’t comment on the specifics of the searches but we believe our business practices are both fair and lawful,” said spokesperson Chuck Malloy at the company’s Santa Clara, California, headquarters.

Sources familiar with the situation said that the raids included Intel’s installations in Swindon, England, and in Munich.

Japan has also acted against Intel, but US authorities have expressed little interest in becoming involved. Antitrust authorities in the United States have said that abuse of dominance or monopolisation cases are their lowest priority, after cartels and mergers.

The Commission had let a probe it began four years ago go dormant until AMD offered new information more than a year ago.

A spokesperson for AMD’s European operations reacted positively to news of Tuesday’s raids.

“We welcome today’s dawn raid concerning Intel’s continuing infringement of European competition rules. AMD has worked with the EU Commission for years and submitted growing evidence of Intel’s illegal activities, including materials from third parties,” the spokesperson said.

The raids in Europe are only one of the fronts on which Intel is facing pressure.

AMD has argued to competition authorities around the world, and recently filed lawsuits, alleging that Intel maintains a 90% market share by income and 78% market share by volume by violating antitrust laws.