INSTANT VIEW: EU exec slaps record antitrust fine on Intel

(Reuters) - The European Commission fined chipmaker Intel a record 1.06 billion euros ($1.45 billion) on Wednesday and ordered it to stop giving computer firms illegal rebates to squeeze rival AMD out of the market.

The fine is the biggest ever imposed on a company by the European Union's executive arm for abuse of market dominance, surpassing the 497 million euro penalty levied on Microsoft in March 2004.

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KEY POINTS:

* EU fines Intel record 1.06 billion euros ($1.45 billion)

* Orders immediate halt to illegal practices

* Says Intel practices hurt "millions of European consumers"

* Fine is 4.15 percent of Intel's 2008 sales

* Intel has three months to pay fine

* EU says Intel paid computer makers to halt or delay products with rival chips

* EU says Intel paid major retailer to exclude computers with chips made by rival

COMMENTARY:

ROBERT JAKOBSEN, JYSKE BANK

"It means nothing strategically. It is only a financial fine, not changing the way Intel is operating today."

GIULIANO MERONI, PRESIDENT OF AMD EMEA

"Today's decision of the European Commission is historic, and it is a game changer for the global IT industry."