EU charges seen unlikely to hurt Google valuation

The European Union’s charges against Google Inc for distorting Web search results to favor its own shopping service are unlikely to hurt the company’s valuation, analysts said. The charges, which come after a five-year investigation, could lead to a fine of up to 10 percent of Google’s annual sales, or about 6.2 billion euros ($6.6 billion).

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Factbox: EU charges Google in Internet search antitrust case – what next?

By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission charged Google Inc on Wednesday with cheating competitors by distorting Internet search results to favor its own shopping service, and opened a separate investigation into its Android mobile operating system. When the investigation was opened in November 2010, then Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia set out four concerns. The first, to which Wednesday’s statement of objections relates, concerns the way in which Google allegedly positions its Google Shopping service above rivals’ services, irrespective of its merits

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