Broadcom hit with EU antitrust complaint and request for interim measure

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, March 19 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Broadcom AVGO.O risks an EU antitrust probe after lobbying group Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe on Thursday urged EU regulators to temporarily stop it from ending its VMware Cloud Service Provider programme in Europe.

CISPE, which has nearly 50 members across Europe and counts Microsoft MSFT.O and Amazon AMZN.O as associate members, sued the European Commission last year for approving Broadcom's acquisition of VMware in 2023, saying the EU competition watchdog had failed to examine the deal properly.

It took its latest grievance about Broadcom to the Commission after the company revamped its VMware cloud service provider ecosystem late last year and asked for an interim measure.

"In January 2026 Broadcom signalled the termination of its VMware Cloud Service Provider program in Europe. This unilateral decision removed all but a tiny minority of hand selected partners and excluded most European CSPs from selling VMware products," CISPE said in a statement.

"Both cloud providers and their customers are being irreparably damaged by Broadcom's unfair actions," CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorance said.

The Commission confirmed receipt of the complaint.

"We are currently assessing this complaint in line with our standard procedures," a spokesperson said.

Broadcom said it was investing significantly in European VMware Cloud Service Provider partners to help them offer alternatives to hyperscalers, as massive cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Google Cloud are known.

"Broadcom strongly disagrees with the allegations by CISPE, an organisation funded by hyperscalers, which misrepresent the realities of the market," a spokesperson said.

CISPE said an EU interim measure should immediately suspend Broadcom's termination of its VCSP partner programme, allow them to be readmitted to the programme, and include protection measures against retaliation from Broadcom.