Articles Posted in International Highlights

Andre Barlow

After more than a decade of deliberations, the People’s Republic of China promulgated its Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML”) at the Twenty-Ninth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People’s Congress on August 30, 2007. The new law will go into effect tomorrow, August 1, 2008. Like the Indian Competition Act, which will be effective…

In 1999, the Government of India formed a committee to make recommendations regarding a modern competition law. The new competition law took the form of the Competition Act, 2002 which was enacted and notified in January 2003. It replaced the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act constituted in 1970. However, due to some reservations within…

On July 17, 2008, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a complaint challenging the proposed $9 billion acquisition of V&S Vin & Sprit (“V&S”), a wholly owned corporation of the Kingdom of Sweden, by Pernod Ricard (“Pernod”), a wholly owned subsidiary of France-based Pernod. The FTC contends that the transaction is anticompetitive and violates U.S.…

On July 16, 2008, the European Commission (“EC”) announced that it would expand its investigation of the Intel Corporation by filing new antitrust charges. The charges allege that Intel provides inducements, such as discounts, rebates, and marketing payments, to computer manufactures discouraging them to use chips made by Intel’s smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices (“AMD”).…

On April 29, 2008, the DOJ required the divestiture of assets of Regal Cinema (“Regal”) and Consolidated Theatres Holding GP (“Consolidated”) in three metropolitan areas in North Carolina in order for the $210 million merger between the companies to proceed. The DOJ believes that the transaction would have resulted in less competition and higher ticket…

On April 21, 2008, a federal grand jury in San Francisco, CA unsealed an indictment against a Canadian company, Newcon Optik Ltd. (“Newcon”), and two of its executives, Michael Beker (a.k.a. Mendel Beker) and Arie Prilik for their role in a scheme to defraud the U.S. military in Iraq. Mr. Beker, president and CEO, Mr.…

On March 4, 2008, the DOJ reached a settlement that will require Cookson Group plc and Foseco plc to divest Foseco’s U.S. carbon bonded ceramic (“CBC”) business in order to proceed with Cookson’s proposed $1 billion acquisition of Foseco. Allegedly, the transaction, as originally proposed, would substantially lessen competition in the United States for certain…

On January 16, 2008 the European Commission (the “Commission”) announced that it launched an inquiry into the pharmaceuticals sector under Article 17 of Regulation (EC) 1/2003. The Commission is concerned that competition within the pharmaceuticals sector may be restricted or distorted. In particular, the Commission highlighted the decline of innovation. In its announcement, the Commission…