UNITED STATES: OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2018 UPDATE -

Both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) were very active in the final quarter of 2018, closing seven cases that required in-depth investigations. In the UTC/Rockwell Collins merger, UTC agreed with the DOJ to divest two of Rockwell Collins’ Aerospace businesses worldwide to preserve global competition in the supply of aircraft components critical to safety. The DOJ also issued a new Model Timing Agreement, which is aimed at reducing the burden of second request compliance while providing DOJ with adequate time to review the materials produced and prepare to block deals in court if needed. Having a model agreement likely will lead to more uniform processes in merger review proceedings. Meanwhile, the FTC continued its public hearings on the state and future of antitrust policy in the United States, with a focus on the potential need for updates in the methodology of reviewing high tech transactions. The FTC indicated that one area of focus is whether some high tech deals may be anticompetitive because it could allow a dominant firm to expand its strength into the new market even if there are no horizontal or vertical issues.

EUROPEAN UNION: OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2018 UPDATE -

In the last quarter of 2018, the European Commission (EC) closed 10 merger control proceedings where remedies were required, including acquisitions by global players such as Mars, Takeda and Daimler/BMW. The recent acquisition of the innovative biopharmaceutical company Shire by Takeda and the creation of a joint venture (JV) between Daimler and BMW relating to their car sharing services demonstrates that the EC continues to focus on how transactions can reduce competition in innovation markets. The EC required Takeda to divest Shire’s pipeline product to a purchaser that would have an incentive to develop the biologic treatment product. The EC required Daimler to provide third party car sharing providers with access to Daimler’s integrator app. In addition, the EC also required that third party integrator app providers be able to redirect car sharing users to Daimler’s and BMW’s car sharing services, thus allowing new and innovative service providers to access the recently emerged market for free-floating car sharing services.