CISPE, a European cloud trade group, is taking legal action to overturn the EU’s approval of Broadcom’s €61 billion acquisition of VMware. The group argues the merger harms competition and endangers smaller cloud providers.
CISPE, the European alliance of cloud infrastructure providers, has filed a legal appeal with the EU General Court to annul the European Commission’s approval of Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware.
The group claims the Commission made legal errors in assessing the 2023 deal, despite acknowledging that the merger posed competitive risks. CISPE argues that the Commission failed to impose effective remedies, allowing Broadcom to implement aggressive licensing practices that harm customers and competitors alike.
Since the acquisition, Broadcom has reportedly cancelled existing contracts, imposed steep price hikes, forced bundling of formerly separate services, and required multi-year agreements. These changes have especially affected smaller cloud players and European public institutions heavily reliant on VMware software.
CISPE says Broadcom’s restrictive new licensing terms effectively exclude many small European providers from reselling or using VMware services, leading to a dangerous concentration of power among a few large tech firms. Resellers, caught off guard, have seen their business models collapse.
The group had previously raised concerns directly with the Commission, but no regulatory action followed. With VMware’s dominance in cloud infrastructure and limited short-term alternatives, many customers now feel cornered.
CISPE seeks to overturn the original merger clearance, citing the real-world damage that has followed. The case could set a precedent for how the EU handles digital infrastructure consolidation amid growing calls for fairer competition in the cloud market.
