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EU: Cisco to have appeal of Skype/Microsoft deal heard this month

By  |  May 8, 2013

The world’s largest manufacturer of computer-networking equipment, Cisco Systems Inc., will soon have its case heard against the $8.5 billion buyout of Skype Technologies SA by Microsoft Corp. According to reports, the EU General Court will hear the case on May 29; Cisco argues that the European Commission ignored an anticompetitive consequence of the deal. Specifically, the equipment company says the merger hampers competition because Microsoft does not use open standards for video communication software, so competing products cannot be compatible with Skype. It’s a missed opportunity, argues Cisco, for the Commission to require Microsoft to use such an open standard. The deal earned approval from the regulator without concessions in October of 2011.

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