Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) was ordered to pay €573M ($666M) in damages to two German price-comparison websites in the wake of a European Union antitrust crackdown on the search engine giant’s abuse of market power, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
The report said that Axel Springer SE-owned Idealo, which initially sought €3.3B, was awarded €374M plus €91M in interest in a ruling at the Berlin Regional Court. Producto GmbH, another price-comparison service that sought €290M, was granted €89.7M plus €17.7M in interest.
“We are pleased that the court dismissed the majority of these exorbitant claims and require the claimants to bear most of the costs,” Google reportedly said in a statement. “However, we disagree with the two rulings overall and will appeal.”
The civil suits are linked to a 2017 decision by the European Commission to fine Google €2.4B for illegally leveraging its search dominance to give its shopping service an edge.
The EU decision unleashed a wave of so-called follow-on suits, which were delayed for years as Google appealed the EU fine. Then, last year, a tribunal confirmed that the company did violate antitrust laws—meaning EU-based plaintiffs no longer have to prove that in court, the report said.
According to the report, Idealo co-founder Albrecht von Sonntag welcomed the court’s decision to hold Google accountable for 15 years of competition abuse but said he will appeal and try to recover “a bigger amount.”
“We will continue to fight because market abuse must have consequences and must not become a lucrative business model worthwhile despite fines and damages payments,” von Sonntag reportedly said.