Microsoft Offers to Price Office Without Teams Cheaper to End Antitrust Probe

End of the Road?

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MICROSOFT HAS OFFERED to make its Office product without Teams cheaper than when sold with Teams, EU antitrust regulators said on Friday, which could spare the company a big fine and ease tensions with the U.S.

The European Commission said it would seek feedback from rivals and customers before deciding whether to accept the offer. Reuters was the first to report the proposal earlier this week.

If accepted, it would end a long-running case triggered by a 2020 complaint from Salesforce-owned Slack, which could have resulted in a massive antitrust fine for the U.S. tech giant. Germany's alfaview also complained.

Microsoft's Vice President for European Government Affairs Nanna-Louise Linde said in a blog post the proposal was a clear and complete resolution to concerns raised by rivals and would give Europeans more choice.