New Happy Birthday Song, Copyright-Free
“Big data” has become one of the hottest subjects for antitrust enforcers around the globe. There is concern that large tech companies are amassing vast amounts of data and will use that data to entrench their dominant...more
In his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump frequently expressed populist themes, rhetorically criticizing “big business” and “special interests,” and signaled an activist antitrust agenda with his comment in October 2016...more
The DOJ Antitrust Division’s high profile, unsuccessful attempt to block the AT&T/Time Warner merger ended on February 26, 2019 after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed the trial court’s decision to allow...more
On February 26, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (Court of Appeals) issued an important antitrust decision, which will influence how vertical mergers are reviewed in the U.S., and perhaps in other...more
On February 26, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously affirmed a district court decision rejecting the U.S. Department of Justice’s challenge to AT&T’s $85 billion merger with Time Warner, cementing...more
Skadden’s Antitrust and Competition Group and the economics firm Charles River Associates recently co-hosted the ninth annual “Antitrust in the Technology Sector: Policy Perspectives and Insights From the Enforcers” seminar...more
On 26 February 2019 AT&T won its appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit when the district court's decision denying the government's attempt to block AT&T from acquiring Time Warner Inc. was...more
February 27, 2019 On February 26, 2019, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court’s denial of a Department of Justice (DOJ) bid to permanently...more
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals dealt the DOJ a blow yesterday with a ruling that “rejected the government’s claim that a lower court had applied antitrust laws incorrectly in allowing the merger” between AT&T and Time Warner...more
Under the Trump administration, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) (and, to some extent, the Federal Trade Commission) has emphasized its role as an antitrust “enforcer” and not a “regulator.”...more
The District Court for the District of Columbia rejected the request by the U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) to enjoin the merger of AT&T’s television distribution business with Time Warner’s video content...more
While federal officials have stated their intent to persist in questioning vertical relationships that they hypothesize cause downstream economic effects on product flow and prices, a recent loss by the Department of Justice...more
Following a six-week trial, federal Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently approved AT&T’s 85-billion-dollar acquisition of Time Warner Inc. AT&T Inc. (along with its subsidiary,...more
On June 12, 2018, after a six-week trial, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon denied the U.S. Department of Justice’s request to block AT&T Inc.’s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc., one of the most high-profile...more
The challenges that the government faces in litigating vertical mergers was illustrated in the DOJ’s recent loss in its challenge of AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner. The result provides guidance for how companies...more
On October 22, 2016, AT&T announced its $108 billion proposed acquisition of Time Warner. After a year-plus investigation, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit to enjoin the merger, alleging that the transaction would...more
After eighteen months of investigation and litigation, a federal district court has rejected the Justice Department's challenge to AT&T's $108 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc. Although the government could appeal, the...more
On June 12, 2018, following a six-week-long bench trial, Judge Richard J. Leon of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that AT&T’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner does not violate the...more
In one of the most significant antitrust cases in recent years, AT&T won the right to merge with Time Warner when Judge Richard Leon ruled in their favor. ...more
The DOJ vs. the AT&T/Time Warner deal. The much-anticipated ruling’s finally in, and . . . the merger’s a go. Repeat, the merger’s a go....more
On April 4, 2018, Skadden hosted a webinar titled “Year Two of Trump Antitrust Merger Enforcement: What to Expect in 2018.” The Skadden panelists were antitrust/competition global head Steven C. Sunshine and...more
Fast Facts - There are signs that the six-year trend toward longer significant investigations may be slowing or reversing. - Significant U.S. merger investigations lasted an average of 9.7 months in Q1 2018, the second...more
Just days after profiled Walmart’s efforts to keep pace with Amazon in the grocery biz, a whistleblower and former WM director of business development is accusing Walmart of issuing “misleading e-commerce results” and...more
Chipotle and founder Steve Ells—which built an empire on the idea of offering a healthier, more authentic Mexican experience than its Tex-Mex fast food rivals—are turning ironically enough to Taco Bell’s CEO Brian Niccol to...more
Antitrust merger enforcement historically has focused on horizontal mergers — consolidation of two firms that compete directly in the same space. This is especially true in the U.S., where antitrust authorities have...more