EU antitrust watchdog launches investigation into Microsoft over Teams bundling

Investing.com -- EU antitrust authorities have officially opened up an investigation into whether Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is unfairly bundling its Teams video conferencing app with its Office service.

In a statement Thursday, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said that remote communication and collaboration tools like Teams have become "indispensable" for many businesses in Europe.

"We must therefore ensure that the markets for these products remain competitive, and companies are free to choose the products that best meet their needs," Vestager added.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters that the company would continue to cooperate with the European Commission, and was committed to finding solutions to its concerns.

Reuters previously reported that the EU competition watchdog would launch the investigation after Microsoft declined to offer steeper discounts for its Office service without Teams. People familiar with the situation quoted by Reuters said that the Commission hopes to find a price differential between Office with Teams and Office without Teams that will ensure a level playing field and grant more choice to consumers.

The probe comes after messaging app Slack filed a complaint with the EU executive in July 2020, arguing that "Microsoft [...] illegally tied its Teams product into its market-dominant Office productivity." Brussels has said that there are other complainants besides Slack, which is now owned by Salesforce (NYSE:CRM).