Articles Posted in DOJ Antitrust Highlights

On December 11, 2015, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) approved Continental AG’s $1.8 billion acquisition of Veyance Technologies with conditions.   The settlement agreements requires Continental to divest the North American commercial vehicle air springs business of Veyance and to waive an exclusivity requirement in its supply agreement to resolve a vertical antitrust concern. The Antitrust…

On November 7, 2014, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced that it obtained a $5 million settlement with Flakeboard America Limited; its parent companies, Celulosa Arauco y Constitución S.A. and Inversiones Angelini y Compañía Limitada; and SierraPine for illegal pre-merger coordination in violation of the antitrust laws and of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act…

On November 3, 2014, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division challenged National CineMedia, Inc.’s (“NCM”) proposed acquisition of Screenvision by filing a lawsuit in federal court.  The transaction would have combined the only two significant cinema advertising networks in the United States. Background   On May 5, 2014, NCM, Inc. entered into the Merger Agreement to…

On November 5, 2014, the DOJ announced that Embarcadero Technologies Inc. and CA Inc. terminated Embarcadero’s proposed acquisition of CA Inc.’s ERwin data modeling product suite. Background In March of 2014, Embarcadero Technologies announced that it would acquire CA Inc.’s ERwin data modeling suite. Data modeling software is used to view and streamline enterprise data,…

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division continues to send a strong message to individuals engaged in conspiracies to rig public real estate foreclosure auctions through criminal enforcement.  Punishing real estate investors engaged in illegal activity that harms struggling homeowners and financial institutions continues to be a priority for the Antirust Division. Alabama Public Real Estate…

On October 30, 2014, the Antitrust Division filed a complaint along with a proposed settlement agreement that allows Media General Inc.’s acquisition of LIN Media, LLC for $1.5 billion to be consummated, as long as the parties divest certain broadcast stations. Background Media General’s local broadcast stations and LIN’s stations in various designated marketing areas…

On October 2, 2014, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division announced through a business review letter CyperPoint International, LLC’s cyber intelligence data-sharing platform known as TruSTAR, as proposed, does not raise antitrust concerns that would warrant a challenge. Background Earlier this year, the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission issued a joint policy statement recognizing that…

On September 10, 2014, the House Judiciary Committee passed legislation to eliminate certain discrepancies between merger reviews conducted by the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice. The Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act (SMARTER Act), H.R. 5402, introduced by Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX), would codify certain recommendations included in a 2007…

On May 30, 2014, the lawyers representing Donald Sterling, the controversial ex-owner of the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) franchise, the Los Angeles Clippers (“Clippers”), filed a complaint before the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California to fight an order by the NBA that would force him to divest his ownership in the…

On May 20, 2014, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it will require Ardent Mills, a proposed merger of the wheat milling operations of the companies ConAgra, Cargill, and CHS, to divest four competitively significant mills to an upfront buyer before clearing the deal for approval. These four mills are located in regions encompassing…