By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Amazon is seeking to settle two EU antitrust investigations that would stave off potential hefty fines and intrusive orders to change its business practices, people familiar with the matter said.
The European Commission in November last year charged the world’s biggest online retailer with using its size, power and data to gain an unfair advantage over smaller merchants that sell on its online platform.
It also opened an investigation into Amazon’s possible preferential treatment of its own retail offers and those of marketplace sellers that use its logistics and delivery services.
Amazon is engaged in preliminary discussions with the EU competition enforcer and has offered concessions to address their concerns, the people said.
Settlement talks can take months to wrap up, with no guarantee that both sides will reach an agreement.
The Commission, which can fine companies up to 10% of their global turnover and in Amazon’s case would come to $38.6 billion based on last year’s revenue, declined to comment.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens)
