Cisco Loses Legal Challenge to Microsoft's Skype Acquisition
The networking giant and video conferencing equipment provider loses its case against Microsoft after European judges determine that snapping up Skype doesn't stifle competition.
Microsoft scored a legal victory in Europe after judges in Luxembourg's General Court ruled against Cisco's challenge to the software giant's 2011 acquisition of Skype.
Pointing to the existence of Skype rivals and Cisco's own large presence in the enterprise video conferencing market, the Court—Europe's second highest—said Cisco failed to show how the deal could be considered anti-competitive. "Microsoft's acquisition of Skype is compatible with the (European Union's) internal market. The merger does not restrict competition either on the consumer video communications market or on the business video communications market," the judges ruled, according to a Dec. 11 Reuters report.
