European Union anti-trust regulators have accused U.S. chip maker Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) of using anti-competitive practices to block rivals.
The accusations by the European Commission set out in a charge sheet known as a statement of objections (SO) followed a formal investigation begun in July.
The commission reckons the San Diego-based Qualcomm may have illegally paid a major customer for using its chipsets exclusively and that it sold chipsets below cost to force a competitor out of the market.
One SO concerns the supply of Qualcomm's chipsets to a single customer under an existing agreement. The other SO concerns Qualcomm's sales to two customers from 2009 through 2011 of three chipsets incorporated into dongles – small USB devices that at the time were used to provide cellular connectivity for laptops.
The company insists it's cooperating with the investigation, Qualcomm Executive Vice-President Don Rosenberg adding, "we look forward to demonstrating that competition in the sale of wireless chips has been and remains strong and dynamic, and that Qualcomm's sales practices have always complied with European competition law."
Qualcomm shares opened Tuesday trading down $2.15, or 4.1%, to $50.28 U.S., within a 52-week trading range of $47.52 to $75.72 U.S.
