Microsoft’s Office-Teams Unbundling May Help Avoid EU Antitrust Fine
Microsoft appears poised to avert a significant EU antitrust penalty as regulators are likely to accept its latest concessions regarding the bundling of Office and Teams, according to three sources familiar with the situation. This development follows sustained pressure from European competitors and comes amid growing transatlantic tensions over the EU’s scrutiny of American tech giants.
The case dates back to a 2020 complaint from Slack, owned by Salesforce, which accused Microsoft of gaining an unfair competitive edge by bundling its Teams app with its dominant Office productivity suite. German rival alfaview filed a similar complaint in 2023, intensifying the European Commission’s investigation.
In response, Microsoft unbundled Teams from Office in 2023, initially offering a 2-euro price reduction for Office without Teams and setting a 5-euro monthly price for Teams as a standalone product. After criticism from rivals that this pricing strategy was inadequate, Microsoft adjusted the terms again in February 2024 to widen the price gap and address antitrust concerns.
Sources indicate that Microsoft’s latest proposal also includes enhanced interoperability to allow rival platforms to better integrate with Microsoft’s ecosystem — a key demand from competitors seeking a level playing field.
The European Commission is expected to launch a market test in the coming months to gather feedback from industry stakeholders before issuing a final decision. While outcomes may still shift depending on this feedback, the current offer appears likely to satisfy EU regulators.
Despite having already paid over €2.2 billion in fines for bundling practices and other competition violations in the past, Microsoft has not commented publicly on the current negotiations.
This case unfolds against a backdrop of geopolitical friction, as former U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened retaliatory tariffs on countries that impose penalties on American tech firms, adding a layer of diplomatic complexity to the EU’s enforcement actions.
