Qualcomm to face second EU antitrust fine soon

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Qualcomm the world’s largest chipmaker, could face a second EU antitrust fine as early as Thursday for blocking a competitor from entering the market more than a decade ago, people familiar with the matter said.

The company came under fire in 2015 when the European Commission accused it of predatory pricing between 2009 and 2011 to drive out British phone software maker Icera, now owned by Nvidia Corp. .

The Commission alleges that Qualcomm sold a number of its UMTS baseband chipsets to two of its customers at lower prices in order to exclude Icera from the market.

The EU’s antitrust watchdog, which can fine companies up to 10 percent of their global turnover, could impose sanctions on Qualcomm as early as Thursday, one of the people said, while another person said the decision could be delayed until next week.

Last year, the Commission fined Qualcomm €997 million ($1.1 billion) for paying iPhone maker Apple for using only its chips as a tactic to thwart rivals including Intel .

The Commission and Qualcomm declined to comment.

It could be the last sanction imposed by European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager against a technology company before her term ends on October 31.

Heavy fines, particularly against US tech giants, have become a hallmark of her five-year tenure as Europe’s antitrust enforcer, a policy that has drawn the ire of US President Donald Trump.

Qualcomm has also been targeted by other law enforcement agencies for its business practices. In May, it lost an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission, with a judge issuing a sweeping antitrust ruling against the company.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)