Google tried to offer $512 mn package to derail Microsoft antitrust pact

Google offered a group of European Union-based cloud firms a package worth about €470 million ($512 million) in a failed attempt to derail their antitrust settlement with Microsoft Corp. that freed the US software giant from a potentially costly EU case.

Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe, or CISPE, last week ditched a complaint at the EU’s antitrust arm over Microsoft’s software licensing processes after brokering a deal to get fairer access to the US firm’s technologies. CISPE had previously argued Microsoft made it too difficult for customers to change cloud providers by tying its business software to its Azure cloud services.