U.S. Agency Spares Intel Formal Antitrust Inquiry BRIEFING: WASHINGTON

The head of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has rejected requests by lawmakers, other commissioners and a major rival company to undertake a formal antitrust investigation of Intel, the world’s largest maker of computer microprocessors, for anti-competitive conduct, government officials and lawyers involved in the proceeding said.

In recent weeks, regulators in South Korea and Europe have separately accused Intel of antitrust violations by offering large discounts to computer makers in exchange for agreeing not to use products by a rival company, Advanced Micro Devices. Japanese officials made similar accusations in 2005.

The U.S. commission has been conducting an informal review of AMD’s complaints for more than a year, gathering thousands of documents from Intel and its customers. But the agency’s chairwoman, Deborah Majoras, has rejected requests to elevate the inquiry to a formal investigation, which would give staff members the authority to issue subpoenas and compel testimony from executives of the companies involved.

Originally published by The New York Times Media Group.

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