European Commission opens antitrust probe into software giant SAP

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The European Commission launched an antitrust investigation into the German software giant SAP on Thursday, expressing worries over the company's software support service policies.

The probe will determine "whether SAP may have distorted competition in the aftermarket for maintenance and support services related to an on-premises type of software, licensed by SAP, used for the management of companies’ business operations," according to the Commission.

In a statement released on Thursday, SAP said that it believes its practices and procedures complied completely with EU competition laws.

"However, we take the issues raised seriously and we are working closely with the EU Commission to resolve them," the statement said. "We do not anticipate the engagement with the European Commission to result in material impacts on our financial performance."

SAP, one of Europe’s most valuable companies, has a market cap of almost €274.2 billion ($321.7 billion). Shares of the firm fell 2% on Thursday.

SAP's on-premise IT services continue to account for a large portion of its revenue. However, the firm has been working for years to concentrate more on the cloud, especially in light of competition from computer behemoths like Amazon and Microsoft who control the public cloud services industry.