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Intel cleared to buy McAfee

European Commission insists on interoperability pledges.

The European Commission has approved Intel’s $7.68 billion (€6bn) purchase of anti-virus software maker McAfee.

The approval, which was announced today, is conditional upon a set of commitments ensuring fair competition between the parties and their competitors in the field of computer security. The Commission said this was a growing concern due to the exponential rise in the amount of malware such as viruses.

Officials were concerned that rival IT security products could be excluded from the marketplace given Intel’s strong presence in the world markets for computer chips and chipsets.

In particular, the Commission feared the high likelihood that the merged entity would embed its own security solutions into its chips and chipsets.
To alleviate these concerns, Intel has committed itself to ensuring the interoperability of the merged entity’s products with those of competitors.

Joaquín Almunia, the European competition commissioner, said: “The commitments submitted by Intel strike the right balance, as they allow [the] preserving [of] both competition and the beneficial effects of the merger.

“These changes will ensure that vigorous competition is maintained and that consumers get the best result in terms of price, choice and quality of the IT security products.”

The Commission has been investigating the deal since November 2010. The Federal Trade Commission, in the US, approved the deal last month.

In May 2009, the Commission fined Intel more then €1 billion after finding it guilty of abusing a dominant position in the market for computer processors following a complaint by technology company AMD.

Also today, the European Commission cleared the French energy company GDF Suez’s acquisition of the UK’s International Power.

The clearance is conditional on the divestment of International Power’s shareholding in T-Power, the owner of a Belgian power plant due to start production in 2011, and the transfer to third parties of the operation and maintenance agreement of the T-Power plant.