Put down the lemonade and break out the pumpkin spice: summer is coming to an end. And while you were in the pool – or maybe just answering emails poolside – the antitrust agencies showed no signs of a summer slowdown. Before...more
Following a nine-week bench trial starting in September 2023 and closing arguments in May 2024, District of Columbia district court judge Amit Mehta ruled on August 5, 2024, that Google illegally maintained its monopoly in...more
After "an extensive public consultation process" since late July 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division on Dec. 18, 2023, jointly announced the release of final Merger...more
As we look ahead to the trends and issues likely to be at the forefront of Canadian competition law policy and enforcement in 2022, it is clear that discussion of significant potential legislative reforms will be an important...more
The five-year plan for the 2019-2024 European Commission (EC) is now underway. In a time of change, a deliberate consideration of the rules enshrined in the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) seems to be the focus of much attention....more
The typical path for the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice when it determines that a contemplated merger is anticompetitive is to sue in federal court to block the merger. Recently, however, the DOJ, for the...more
The fact that a merger might be anticompetitive is not a reason to prohibit a transaction if all of the elements of the “failing firm defense” are met, as described below. In fact, the antitrust agencies have long recognized...more
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently sued former joint venture partners because they allegedly coordinated their competitive activities beyond the legitimate scope of their venture. This case illustrates several...more
WHAT HAPPENED - • The Wall Street Journal has reported that the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently investigating whether advertising sales teams for competing television station owners...more
On March 24, the D.C. Circuit held oral argument on Anthem's appeal in United States v. Anthem, in which Anthem sought to have the appellate court overturn District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson's ruling that barred the...more
The Philippine Competition Commission has implemented compulsory merger control, while other Philippine antitrust provisions await full application. The world’s 12th most populous nation joins the global antitrust...more
On June 29, 2015, Sysco Corp. announced that it was pulling the plug on its $3.5 billion proposed merger with US Foods Inc. The news comes less than a week after a Washington, D.C., federal judge concluded that the Federal...more
The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division continue to stake out an aggressive health care antitrust agenda — and they have “the wind at their backs.” In important recent decisions, two...more
For many years after its implementation, the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 seemed to sound the death knell of post-consummation merger trials. By establishing a file-and-wait system rather than the old...more
In her first speech since becoming Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, Deborah Feinstein highlighted five benefits arising from addressing antitrust violations through consent orders and...more