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SAP offers concessions to EU in effort to ease antitrust concerns

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SAP, Europe’s largest software maker, has proposed concessions to the European Commission in an attempt to head off a potential antitrust investigation and fines, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The German company dominates the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market, providing software that helps firms manage finances, supply chains, HR, and procurement. SAP has long been under scrutiny from EU regulators following complaints about complex licensing terms, the bundling of applications, and difficulties faced by companies trying to switch to rival suppliers.

According to sources, SAP has submitted a proposal aimed at addressing regulators’ concerns, though details of the remedies were not disclosed. If accepted, SAP could avoid a formal investigation and a penalty that could reach up to 10% of its annual global revenue. Both SAP and the European Commission declined to comment.

The Commission previously circulated a 2022 questionnaire to SAP customers asking about their ability to switch to rival vendors, purchase only specific support services, or migrate from on-premise ERP systems to the cloud. The inquiry also raised questions about whether SAP or Oracle had disparaged competitors.

Potential remedies could include giving customers greater flexibility to purchase individual support contracts and lowering barriers to migration between vendors.

SAP also faces antitrust pressure in the United States: in June it asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling requiring it to face a lawsuit from Teradata, which accused the company of anti-competitive practices.

The EU’s decision on SAP’s concessions will determine whether the company averts another high-profile investigation as regulators increase scrutiny of dominant software vendors.

Microsoft avoids EU antitrust fine with Teams price split

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Microsoft sidestepped a potential multibillion-euro EU antitrust fine by agreeing to lower prices on Office products that exclude its Teams app, the European Commission announced Friday. The deal follows a long-running probe triggered by a 2020 complaint from Slack, later joined by German rival Alfaview, accusing Microsoft of unfairly bundling Teams with Office.

Under the agreement, Microsoft will widen the price difference by 50% between Office/Microsoft 365 packages sold with and without Teams, creating a gap of €1–€8 depending on the suite. This pricing model will stay in place for seven years, while additional commitments on interoperability and data portability—including the ability for customers to export Teams messaging data to competitors—will last 10 years.

EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the move would “open up competition in this crucial market,” ensuring companies can freely choose their collaboration tools. The decision arrives a week after Ribera fined Google €2.95 billion for adtech violations, a ruling that drew sharp criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Microsoft Vice President Nanna-Louise Linde said the company welcomed the constructive dialogue and would implement its obligations globally. Alfaview CEO Niko Fostiropoulos praised the settlement as a win for Europe’s “digital sovereignty,” while Salesforce president Sabastian Niles called it “a meaningful step forward” and urged strict enforcement.

Microsoft has previously racked up €2.2 billion in EU fines for bundling and other practices, but in recent years it has sought a more cooperative stance with regulators. Antitrust penalties can reach up to 10% of a firm’s global annual turnover, meaning the company could have faced a fine of over $20 billion without the deal.

Google Fined $3.45 Billion by EU for Antitrust Breaches in Adtech; Trump Threatens Retaliation

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Google (Alphabet) has been fined €2.95 billion ($3.45 billion) by the European Union for abusing its dominance in the online advertising technology market, marking the fourth major EU penalty against the company in a decade.

The European Commission found that since 2014, Google unfairly favored its own adtech services, particularly its AdX exchange, to the detriment of rivals and online publishers. The watchdog ordered Google to end these self-preferencing practices and address conflicts of interest, warning that stronger remedies, including potential divestitures, remain on the table if compliance efforts fall short. Google has 60 days to propose changes and another 30 days to implement them.

U.S. President Donald Trump blasted the fine as “unfair” and “discriminatory,” threatening to launch a Section 301 trade investigation that could nullify EU penalties and impose retaliatory tariffs. “We cannot let this happen to brilliant American ingenuity,” Trump said, vowing to confront the EU directly.

Google said it would appeal, arguing the decision is “wrong” and would harm European businesses that rely on its services to generate ad revenue. “There’s nothing anticompetitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives than ever,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s VP of regulatory affairs.

The fine comes amid mounting U.S.-EU trade tensions, with Brussels under pressure to balance antitrust enforcement with the risk of Trump’s tariff retaliation on European exports, including cars. While the Commission stopped short of ordering a breakup, critics—including the European Publishers Council—warned that fines alone would not curb Google’s dominance in the €120 billion adtech market.

The ruling adds to Google’s history of penalties in Europe: €4.3 billion in 2018, €2.42 billion in 2017, and €1.49 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, Google faces a U.S. trial in September to determine remedies in a Justice Department case that found it illegally monopolized online advertising.

Google’s advertising business remains the backbone of its revenue, generating $264.6 billion in 2024 (75.6% of total sales) across services including YouTube, Gmail, Maps, and Google Play.