Euronews: EC Sharpens Knives Over Huawei, ZTE

The European Commission is preparing a major case against Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE over what it sees as illegal state subsidies, reports the Financial Times (subscription required). According to the report, the Commission told representatives from EU member states that it has amassed sufficient solid evidence to bring a formal case against China as early as next month, a move that could result in Chinese companies being subjected to "punitive tariffs." (See EC Circles Huawei, ZTE and Will EC Probe Huawei, ZTE?.)

France Telecom has completed its acquisition of 94 percent of Mobinil , the Egyptian mobile operator, reports Reuters. The French giant, which is constantly looking to spread its tentacles further outside its hotly competitive European home, was already the biggest shareholder in Mobinil. (See France Telecom Gets Approval for Mobinil Offer, Euronews: FT's Q1 Suffers Free Fall and Euronews: France Telecom to Sell Euro Assets.)

Video technology specialist Technicolor has announced that its set-top box manufacturing subsidiary in Angers, France, has filed for bankruptcy. According to Bloomberg, Technicolor said last month it was talking to five potential buyers for the factory, its last remaining production facility in France.

The Guardian has been looking at why Mike Lynch, who co-founded British data-analytics firm Autonomy Corp. , has decided to kiss goodbye to his baby, which was taken over by HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) last year. It seems it's the familiar culture-clash story, with Autonomy's leanness contrasting with the multi-layered management of HP. The news of Lynch's decision came as HP announced plans to lay off 27,000 of its less well rewarded workers. (See HP to Axe 27,000 Staff and HP Gets Autonomy.)

Lantiq Semiconductor , the broadband chipset vendor that was spun out of Infineon Technologies AG (NYSE/Frankfurt: IFX), has made Dan Artusi its new CEO. Artusi has been with the company since 2009. He replaces Christian Wolff, who retains a position on Lantiq's board. (See Lantiq Names New CEO.)

— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading