Microsoft to pay off cloud industry group to end EU antitrust complaint: Report

Microsoft is close to reaching a multimillion-euro deal with an Amazon-backed cloud lobby to get it to drop an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, Politico reported on Saturday.

The deal, which hasn't been accepted yet by members of the lobby group Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE), would see the providers withdraw an investigation request over Microsoft's cloud-licensing agreements, the report said, citing industry officials with knowledge of the proposal.

The pact would include a possible multimillion-euro payment to the trade association, according to the report, and separate payments could also be made to individual companies.

Microsoft, Amazon, CISPE and the European Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

CISPE, whose members include Amazon and 26 small EU cloud providers, filed its complaint in late 2022 alleging that Microsoft's new contractual terms imposed on October 1 were harming Europe's cloud computing ecosystem.

As part of any settlement, CISPE and its members would also agree not to file legal complaints against Microsoft in any country worldwide, the report said.

Reuters was first to report in February that Microsoft was in talks with CISPE to resolve the European Union antitrust complaint about the software giant's cloud licensing practices.