EU to Fine Qualcomm Over Exclusivity Payments to Apple

By Natalia Drozdiak 

BRUSSELS-- Qualcomm Inc. is set to be slapped with a European Union antitrust fine Wednesday over payments it made to Apple Inc. for exclusively using its chips in smartphones and other products, people familiar with the matter said.

EU antitrust fines can reach as high as 10% of annual revenue, though are usually much lower. Qualcomm brought in $22.3 billion in revenue for fiscal 2017.

The EU had opened a probe into Qualcomm's conduct in 2015 over concerns it had paid "significant amounts" to a major smartphone and tablet manufacturer since 2011 on the condition that it use exclusively Qualcomm's baseband chips.

That contract harmed competition and innovation in the chipset market, the EU said at the time.

The fine follows a decision last week by the EU regulator to clear Qualcomm's acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV with conditions.

The Financial Times was first to report that the fine would come Wednesday.

Write to Natalia Drozdiak at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 24, 2018 04:03 ET (09:03 GMT)

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