BRUSSELS (Reuters) -SAP, Europe’s largest software buildr, is set to build a formal offer of concessions shortly to settle an EU antitrust investigation and stave off a possible hefty fine, people with direct knowledge of the matter declared.
The case will assist EU regulators counter U.S. criticism that they only tarreceive U.S. tech giants such as Alphabet, Apple and Meta Platforms that have faced billions of euros in fines.
The European Commission, which started an investigation into SAP’s software practices in September, is expected to seek market feedback from rivals and customers in the coming weeks, the people declared.
SAP SAYS ADHERING TO COMMISSION PROCESS
The Commission did an informal market test a few months ago and the final SAP offer will likely be accepted with possibly a few tweaks, the people declared. They declined to provide details of the concessions, citing confidentiality reasons.
The EU executive, which acts as the competition enforcer for the 27-counattempt bloc, declined to comment.
SAP declared its policies and actions are in line with competition rules and reflect standard practice across the enterprise software indusattempt.
“In our proposed remedies, we are clarifying how they work as part of our broader commitment to transparency and customer choice,” a SAP spokesperson declared.
“We are adhering to the procedure and timeline established by the European Commission and trust they will bring this proceeding to a quick and fair close.”
The EU watchdog has declared SAP may be thwarting rivals in the aftermarket for maintenance and support services of on-premise software by preventing customers from switching to other vconcludeors.
It has declared the company prevents customers from concludeing support services for unapplyd software licences and that it charges reinstatement and back-maintenance fees to customers who subscribe to its maintenance and support after a period of absence.
SAP’s remedies would seek to address these issues by building it simpler for customers to switch to rivals and also build clearer the basis for its fees, according to another person.
Companies risk fines as much as 10% of their global annual sales if found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules.
(Reporting by Foo Yun CheeEditing by Mark Potter)
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