Microsoft-Skype Merger Approval Was Careless, Cisco Tells Court

Cisco Systems Inc. challenged European Union regulators’ approval of Microsoft Corp.’s 2011 takeover of Skype Technologies SA, telling judges the deal created so many competition concerns there should have been an in-depth probe.

Microsoft should never have been allowed to “buy its way to monopoly” in the market for communications that combine instant messaging, voice and video calls, Cisco told the EU General Court in Luxembourg today. Cisco wants the court to rule whether the EU was able to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the merger didn’t trigger competition problems, without an in-depth examination.