Spain Penalizes Amazon and Apple with €194M for Conspiring to Limit Competition in Device Sales

Spain's antitrust watchdog penalized Amazon.Com, Inc AMZN and Apple Inc AAPL by a total €194.1 million ($218.03 million) for conspiring to restrict the online sale of devices from Apple and competitors in Spain.

On October 31, 2018, Amazon and Apple signed two agreements updating Amazon's terms as an Apple Authorized Reseller. They included several clauses restricting competition that affected the Internet (online) retail sale of electronic products in Spain. 

The CNMC penalized Apple by €143.6 million and Amazon by €50.5 million. The two companies have two months to appeal the decision.

More than 90% of the existing retailers using Amazon's marketplace to sell Apple devices lost access to the primary online market in Spain.

Amazon also reduced the capacity of retailers in the European Union based outside Spain to access Spanish customers and restricted the advertising Apple's competitors were allowed to place on its website when users searched for Apple products, Reuters reports.

Following the deal, the prices of Apple devices sold online increased in Spain. Apple device buyers profited from the deal, and discounts on iPads and iPhones increased.

Apple said the deal aimed to limit the number of counterfeits sold online. 

Amazon held $64.4 billion in cash and equivalents as of March 31.

Apple held $55.9 billion in cash and equivalents as of April 1.

Price Actions: AMZN shares traded higher by 0.46% at $133.45 premarket on the last check Wednesday. AAPL shares traded lower by 0.22% at $193.30.

Photo by howard bouchevereau via Unsplash