Antitrust Lawyer Blog

Following a public comment period, the Commission has approved the issuance of a final consent order in the matter concerning Linde AG's acquisition of The BOC Group. The vote approving issuance of the final order was 5-0. Authored by: Robert W. Doyle, Jr. 202-589-1839 rdoyle@dbmlawgroup.com

On August 22, the manufacturer of a magnetic “fuel saving” and emissions-reduction device that did not save fuel or reduce emissions will pay $4.2 million to settle Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) charges that his advertising claims were false. The FTC will seek to provide redress to consumers who bought the device based on the false…

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced a law enforcement action on August 18 challenging a 2005 acquisition that combined the natural gas liquids (“NGL”) storage businesses of Enterprise Product Partners, L.P. and TEPPCO Partners, L.P. under common ownership. The FTC's complaint alleged that the transaction likely would result in higher prices and service degradations by…

The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint on August 15 in U.S. district court, seeking to halt an operation that downloads software barraging consumers with pop-ups demanding payment to make the pop-ups go away. The Office of the Attorney General of the State of Washington also sued the operators. The FTC's complaint asked the court…

In an August 14 letter to the FCC, internet video distributor VDC Corp. (“VDC”), owner of VDC.com, complained that it is having difficulty securing carriage deals with established cable networks. While VDC.com distributes content from Discovery Communications, most of the company's carriage deals are with smaller cable networks such as The Pentagon Channel and Mav…

On August 10, the DOJ announced that it would not oppose a proposal by the American Trucking Associations Inc. (ATA) to develop and publicize model agreements for motor carriers and freight transportation brokers. The DOJ said the model agreements are not likely to be anticompetitive. The DOJ's position was stated in a business review letter…

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced on August 10 that it entered into a court settlement with Nomrah Records, Inc. and its president, Mark Harmon – named defendants in the recent DIRECTV telemarketing case. Under the settlement, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on the FTC's behalf, Harmon will pay a $75,000 civil penalty…

On August 10, the Chinese government issued rules outlining the conditions for foreign investment in local companies through share swaps, paving the way for such transactions in merger and acquisition deals. The regulations also cover the entry of foreign investors in local companies through mergers and acquisitions. The rules, which take effect on September 9,…

An operation selling Chinese herbal supplements was banned on August 9 from claiming its products treated or cured diseases, to settle Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) charges it violated a previous court order. The FTC alleged the sellers of Dia-Cope, a pill claimed to prevent, treat, and cure diabetes, violated the order by misrepresenting the health…

On August 8, the DOJ announced it would not oppose a proposal which would allow 10 textile maintenance companies to bid jointly to provide textile rental and laundry services to national healthcare outpatient centers. Based on representations made in the proposal by Linen Systems for Healthcare LLC, the DOJ concluded that the proposed joint venture…