EU ends anti-trust investigation against IBM

The European Commission on Wednesday closed a 15-month antitrust investigation against U.S. computing firm International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). In a statement release by the EU's executive arm, the Commission said IBM had committed to make spare parts and technical information swiftly available independent mainframe maintainers, under commercially reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. The Commission started its probe into the IBM in July 2010, suspecting the firm of attempting to prevent other companies from providing maintenance for its computer products by limiting their access to spare parts and technical information. "I am pleased that we could find a swift solution with IBM to our competition concerns. Timely interventions are crucial in fast moving technology markets," said European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia. If IBM were to breach its commitments, the Commission could impose a fine of up to 10 percent of IBM's total turnover without having to prove a violation of EU competition rules.