Articles Posted in Merger Highlights

On May 18, the DOJ approved computer chipmaker Applied Materials Inc.’s $303 million purchase of Applied Films Corp. of Longmont, Colo., which makes equipment for manufacturing flat-panel displays and solar cells, without issuing a second request. Andre Barlow

On May 17, the DOJ's Antitrust Division granted early termination to Sprint Nextel's acquisition of UbiquiTel, the exclusive provider of Sprint digital wireless mobility communications network products and services under the Sprint brand name to midsize markets in the Western and Midwestern United States. UbiquiTel and Sprint Nextel announced on April 20th that Sprint Nextel…

On May 12, the DOJ's Antitrust Division announced that it reached a settlement agreement with Mittal Steel Company N.V. regarding its offer to acquire Arcelor S.A. The agreement would resolve potential antitrust concerns in the event that the Antitrust Division concludes the combination of Mittal and Arcelor raises anticompetitive concerns. Under the agreement, the DOJ…

On May 11, the DOJ cleared KLA-Tencor Corp.'s acquisition of ADE Corp. KLA supplies integrated circuit manufacturers with equipment to manage their chip wafer fabrication process while ADE makes technology to detect defects in semiconductor wafers and computer disks. The deal was announced shortly after KLA announced it abandoned plans to buy August Technology Corp.

On May 9, Coherent Inc. announced that it received antitrust approval from the Antitrust Division to buy Excel Technology Inc. Coherent indicated that it received a second request on March 27th from Antitrust Division in connection with its antitrust investigation. Andre Barlow

On May 5, the Federal Trade Commission announced that at the conclusion of the International Competition Network “ICN” conference in Cape Town, South Africa, significant accomplishments were made, including the completion of a Merger Guidelines Workbook and a new agenda that includes a working group on unilateral conduct. The fifth annual conference, hosted by the…

On May 2, AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”) and BellSouth Corp. (“BellSouth”) confirmed that the DOJ had issued a second request with respect to AT&T's nearly $90 billion acquisition of BellSouth. This transaction will make AT&T the dominant phone carrier in 22 states and comes on the heels of two other large telecom deals and amid growing…

On April 20th, the Federal Trade Commission announced a consent agreement that will protect competition and consumers in several significant medical device markets affected by Boston Scientific’s proposed $27 billion acquisition of the Guidant Corporation (“Guidant”). The agreement will allow the transaction to proceed, provided the parties comply fully with its terms. Under the terms…

On April 14, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division (“Antitrust Division”) announced a $1.8 million civil settlement against merger partners Qualcomm and Flarion Technologies alleging “gun-jumping” violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“HSR Act”). The action underscores the Antitrust Division’s resolve to vigorously scrutinize the conduct of merging parties prior to consummation of…

On March 27th, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras kicked off an International Competition Network workshop to discuss the implementation of the ICN’s recommended practices for merger notification and review. These standards are designed to make the process for reviewing mergers more effective and efficient for both the merging parties and the sometimes multiple…