For a company which is believed to be in an existential fight – recent reports suggested Qualcomm was making a move to acquire the company – Intel has won a legal battle that could have cost it several hundred million dollars.

It won a court fight with the European Union over an antitrust fine to the tune €1.06 billion (A$1.73 billion).

The EU’s Court of Justice, the bloc’s highest court, ruled that regulators failed to prove the US chipmaker gave illegal rebates to PC makers that agreed to buy most of their chips from Intel.

The judges said that they rejected all the grounds of appeal raised by the European Commission, the EU’s competition watchdog.

The commission has previously imposed the fine after alleging that intel gave rebates to Dell, HP, and Lenovo for buying most of their chips from Intel, which regulators contended was an attempt to block Advanced Micro Devices.

Intel said it’s “pleased” with the latest ruling “and to finally put this part of the case behind us.”

The European Commission meanwhile said it would “carefully analyze the judgment.”

Although it has won this legal battle, Intel is not completely in the clear in Europe. Another legal battle is ongoing after the commission imposed a new €376.36 million (A$614.06 million) fine last year that focused on elements of a case where it actually won at a lower court with the EU in 2022.

In that case, EU officials alleged Intel paid computer-makers to halt or delay the launch of products containing rival chips, known as “naked restrictions” under EU competition law.

 

Intel overall is struggling as it aims to compete with its rivals globally. This year, it has already announced plans to cut 15,000 jobs of its workforce of around 110,000 people.

It reported a massive hit to its income, confirming a $1.6 billion (A$2.47 billion) net loss in the second quarter compared to net income of $1.5 billion (A$2.31 billion) in the corresponding period last year.

The company is expected to report its third-quarter results next week.