Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On August 9, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission announced a complaint challenging Jarden Corporation’s (Jarden) proposed $1.2 billion acquisition of sporting equipment manufacturer K2 Incorporated (K2). FTC alleges that the deal would be anticompetitive and detrimental to consumers of monofilament fishing line. Monofilament fishing line is the most widely-used and least expensive type of fishing…

On August 7, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission overruled its in-house judge’s previous decision to break up a seven year old hospital merger, allowing it to stay intact even though the deal caused prices to increase. Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corporation (ENH) acquired Highland Park Hospital in January 2000, and as a result, combined ENH’s Evanston…

On July, 25 President Bush signed a bill that will reinforce the review process of foreign acquisitions in the United States, and secure an open environment for foreign investment that is critical to the U.S. economy. The final law does not alter the review period of the first and second stages of the process, and…

On August 7, 2007, the DOJ announced that William Alan Potts, the vice president of a Virginia marine products company agreed to plead guilty, serve a sentence and pay a criminal fine for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and allocate customers with respect to marine products purchased by the U.S. Navy, the…

On August 6, 2006 the DOJ’s Antitrust Division requested a federal judge in Washington, D.C. to appoint a trustee to sell Mittal Steel Company N.V.’s Sparrow Point facility that’s located near Baltimore to resolve antitrust concerns related to Mittal’s proposed acquisition of Arcelor S.A. The acquisition as originally proposed would substantially lessen competition in the…

IHOP Corporation announced its plans to buy Applebee’s International Inc. for $25.50 per share, as the newly restructured company seeks growth outside its pancake chain. IHOP franchises almost all of its restaurants, and believes it can improve the currently struggling chain by franchising a majority of Applebee’s 508 company-operated restaurants. Applebee’s said earlier this year…

In the race to build a more powerful marketing vehicle, Yahoo Inc. made its move by taking control of Right Media two weeks after Google agreed to buy DoubleClick in April. Right Media creates an open exchange to help buyers and sellers trade digital media more effectively, and Yahoo is counting on this acquisition to…

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. are the only two corporations authorized by the Commission to provide satellite radio service in the United States. On March 20, 2007 they submitted an application to the FCC requesting permission to combine into a single entity. Each entity would own half of the company,…

On June 29, the FTC approved a final consent order in the matter concerning DirectRevenue, LLC, et al. with a vote of 4-1, with Commissioner Jon Leibowitz voting no and issuing a dissenting statement. The FTC also approved a final consent order in the matter of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, with a vote of 5-0.…