N.Y. A.G. Cuomo's Antitrust Lawsuit Against Intel Alleges Billions in Bribes
Accusing Silicon Valley's Intel (NYSE: INTC) of "bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market," New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo filed an antitrust lawsuit against the chip-making giant.
How serious were the threats? Cuomo's lawsuit says that a February 2004 Dell internal e-mail charged that Intel executives, then CEO and Chairman Craig Barrett, and current CEO Paul Ottelini (inset, left to right) "are prepared for jihad if Dell joins the AMD exodus."
The antitrust complaint charges that in the fall of 2003, after Intel learned that Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) was talking to "Microsoft, AMD (NASDAQ: AMD), and IBM regarding a proposal named 'MAID' " to try and increase AMD's market share, it "decided to bribe and threaten Dell to induce it to remain [the company's] exclusive" chip provider."
Cuomo alleges that computer makers like Dell, IBM (NYSE: IBM), and HP (NYSE: HPQ),
fearing that Intel would retaliate by subsidizing their competitors to undersell them, often conformed to Intel's demands. For example, in exchange for billions of dollars in rebate payments and other benefits, Dell agreed not to sell any AMD products from 2001 to 2006.
You can read Cuomo's antitrust lawsuit against Intel here:
Related Resources
- Attorney General Cuomo Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Intel Corporation, the World's Largest Maker of Microprocessors, N.Y. Attorney General (Nov. 4, 2009)
- Andrew Cuomo, New York Attorney General
- Intel Corp.'s In-House Counsel
- Dell's In-House Counsel
- AMD's In-House Counsel
- Antitrust Resources for Corporate Counsel, FindLaw
Photo credits: Intel