Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On October 5, 2012, the FTC announced that it entered into a consent agreement requiring the divestiture of an acute inpatient psychiatric hospital in the El Paso, Texas/Santa Teresa, New Mexico area to resolve antitrust concerns arising from Universal Health Services, Inc.'s (“UNH”) proposed acquisition of Ascend Health Corporation (“Ascend”). Background On June 3, 2012,…

On September 25, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that Biglari Holdings, Inc., which owns Steak 'n Shake and Western Sizzlin restaurant chains, agreed to pay $850,000 in civil penalties to resolve allegations that it failed to make a premerger notification filing in connection with its acquisition of 8.7% of the outstanding voting securities…

On September 19, Joseph Wayland, head of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, spoke of the Division's recent performance and future outlook at Georgetown Law's 6th Annual Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium. In his speech, he highlighted recent successes in tough litigation cases such as the one brought against AU Optronics Corporation for price…

On September 20, 2012, Canada's Competition Bureau published the final version of its Enforcement Guidelines on the abuse of dominance provisions (sections 78 and 79) of the Competition Act. The Competition Bureau's release of the Enforcement Guidelines replaces all of the Bureau's previous publications on the abuse of dominance provisions. Abuse of dominance occurs when…

At Georgetown Law’s 6th Annual Global Antitrust Enforcement Symposium on September 19, 2012, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz raised critical concerns about the recent anti-competitive practices of firms regarding the use of technology and IP patents. In particular, he denounced the growing use of International Trade Commission (“ITC”) exclusion orders as a threat by patent holders…

On September 4, 2012, the Antitrust Division announced that 3M Co. abandoned its plan to acquire Avery Dennison Corp.'s Office and Consumer Products Group after the Division informed 3M that it would sue to block the transaction. 3M Response Later that day, 3M responded that it has only withdrawn its notification form filed under the…

On August 22, 2012, the FTC commissioners voted 5-0 to close its investigation of Facebook's acquisition of Instagram without any action. Background In April of 2012, Facebook, an internet social media platform, announced it would acquire Instagram, the developer of a photo-sharing application and a company with no revenues. The FTC issued a second request…

On August 6, 2012, the FTC settled a case against Renown Health, the largest provider of acute medical care in northern Nevada, related to allegations that Renown Health reduced competition in the adult cardiology market in Reno, Nevada through two allegedly anticompetitive acquisitions and the use of anticompetitive non-compete clauses. Competitive Problem Through Renown Health's…