EU says issues charges against Intel

By David Lawsky

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission issued formal charges against Intel (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Thursday for allegedly using illegal tactics against smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a European Commission spokesman said.

The Commission, the European Union's top antitrust regulator, has spent years investigating Intel's tactics to determine whether it acted unfairly to preserve its dominance over AMD (AMD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

"I can confirm the statement of objections has been sent," said Ton Van Lierop, a spokesman for the European Commission. Intel had no immediate comment.

The two companies make all the central processing unit (CPU) chips at the heart of the world's 1 billion personal computers and servers.

The formal charges are contained in a statement of objections (SO).

AMD has sued Intel in the United States, South America and other jurisdictions, but no judgments have been made by courts.

On July 19, AMD posted a 13 percent rise in quarterly revenue, but nonetheless reported a $600 million loss.

AMD gained market share against Intel in 2005 and most of 2006, but suffered a downturn later last year when Intel rolled out powerful new processors and cut prices on older models.