DBM in the News

December 12, 2023
Representatives of Brass Rod Producers Focus on Israeli Imports at USITC
MLEX–The USITC and Petitions brought a case against Brass Rod producers from various countries, however, during closing remarks, Camelia Mazard pointed out the significant absence of accusations aimed at companies from other subject countries other than Israel. “Never once did they mention pricing from Mexico, or South Africa,” Mazard said.

November 29, 2023
US Health Insurers Humana and Cigna in talks to merger
Reuters. Andre Barlow was interviewed and said that it would be wise for the merging parties to workout a divestiture before announcing a merger to increase thier chances of success in front of the Department of Justice.

October 10, 2023
U.S. Would Struggle to Bring Case Against Mega Oil Deal
Reuters. Andre Barlow was interviewed and said that “the FTC would face an uphill struggle in challenging Exxon’s acquisition of Pioneer. Oil and gas companies have been effective in arguing that U.S. mergers alone cannot stifle competition as commodity prices are global. The deal involves production and exploration, which is easier to defend. The deal isn’t a refinery or retail deal, which is usually the main drivers of antitrust risk. Those are the deals where we see problems.”

October 14, 2022
U.S. grocer Kroger carts away Albertsons for $25 billion but faces antitrust test
Reuters. Andre Barlow was interviewed and said that despite Kroger and Albertsons willingness to offer a remedy to resolve antitrust concerns, there is a significant risk of a challenge because this is the type of deal that the FTC is trying to discourage.

October 4, 2022
U.S. keeps losing antitrust court battles but few expect pullback
Reuters: Andre Barlow was interviewed in an article about the DOJ and FTC’s recent losses in court. He explained that the antitrust agencies would continue to block deals even with the losses. Andre Barlow said that “anyone thinking about doing a merger that raises antitrust concerns must either fix it before notifying the government or go into the merger review ready to litigate,” and aded that “the days of cooperating with the antitrust agencies in a merger review to work out a negotiated settlement may be gone. The antitrust agencies are taking a litigation approach so the merging parties must do the same.”

July 28, 2020
It Is Time to Turn Up the Heat on NBC Sports: Golf Industry Needs Focused Antitrust Approach
Inside Sources – Andre Barlow discusses the anticompetitive effects of Comcast’s NBC Sports Groups merger with EZLinks. Comcast, the owner of NBC Sports Group, whose businesses include the Golf Channel, Golf Advisor, and GolfNow, the world’s largest third-party online tee time reservation platform, is a goliath in the online booking of tee times. In an effort to monopolize the third-party online tee time and golf management software markets, Comcast completed the purchase of one of its only rivals, EZLinks. The merger leads to less competition, higher prices, and less choices.

June 9, 2020
NBC Sports’ Purchase of EZLinks Deserves Antitrust Scrutiny
Law360 – Andre Barlow explains GolfNow’s anticompetitive merger with EZLinks. Comcast’s NBC Sports Group, the owner of GolfNow, has engaged in several transactions over the years to eliminate rivals in the online tee time agency market and golf management software market. Despite the fact that the merger has been finalized, Andre Barlow discusses DOJ and FTC history of unwinding uncompetitive mergers and why such action is warranted in this situation.

July 24, 2019
Live Nation Buys Live Events Giant Ocesa
Los Angeles Business Journal – Andre Barlow discusses antitrust concerns in Live Nation’s purchase of Ocesa.

June 7, 2019
Endeavor’s UFC in Antitrust Fight
Los Angeles Business Journal – Andre Barlow explains what could result from the class-action antitrust lawsuit against UFC by indicating that the “lawsuit could change UFC’s business and contracting practices, which would result in more revenue sharing and greater freedom for the fighters.”

June 5, 2019
CVS Gets Aetna’s ‘Huge Collection of Customers,’ Judge Says
Law360 – Andre Barlow is mentioned in an article discussing hearings related to CVS-Aetna merger.

June 4, 2019
Regulating Big Tech Isn’t the Solution, the Swamp is Part of the Problem
Fox Business – Andre Barlow is interviewed on Fox Business regarding regulatory threats facing tech companies.

June 3, 2019
DOJ Looks at Market Dominance, Says Expert
CNBC – Andre Barlow is interviewed on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” to discuss reports that antitrust regulators have a new oversight agreement.

June 3, 2019
Antitrust Probes of Amazon, Google could force industry shift even without legal action
Fox Business – Andre Barlow comments on the focus tech firms receive from antitrust regulators. While the investigations may not result in charges, Mr. Barlow explains that “if there are any business practices that are questionable” then the companies may change their behavior.

February 27, 2019
The Specific Form of Wage Theft Affecting the Local Cooks Who Make Your Meal
Washington City Paper- Keith Lively is quoted discussing Washington, D.C.’s wage and hour laws and how employers must contend with hefty fines for failure to comply with the law.

February 26, 2019
US Asks Judge to Give Final Approval to Settlement with CVS to Buy Aetna
CNBC- Andre Barlow discusses the District Court’s refusal to sign the consent order for final approval of the merger.

January 18, 2019
Live Nation Deal Probed
Los Angeles Business Journal – Andre Barlow discusses a “phase two” investigation into LN-Gaiety Holdings LTD.’s merger with a Dublin-based concert promoter.

December 18, 2018
Judge’s Order Seen Delaying CVS-Aetna Merger for Months
NY Post – Andre Barlow is quoted discussing the role of the Court in the CVS-Aetna Merger.

October 24, 2018
MegaBrew Review Complete: Federal Judge Signs Modified Final Judgment
BrewBound – Andre Barlow discusses the consent decree between the DOJ and A-B InBev.

September 1, 2018
Search and Destroy: How CoStar Became a $15B Juggernaut
The Real Deal – Andre Barlow discusses the impact to consumers stemming from the CoStar-LoopNet Merger.

July 10, 2018
Array of Post-AT&T Mega-Mergers May Define Trump-era Antitrust Policy
Washington Examiner – Andre Barlow explains the priorities of federal regulators in evaluating “mega-mergers”.

April 18, 2018
AT&T May Have an Edge in the Court Battle for Time Warner
Bloomberg – Andre Barlow provides his insight on the merits of AT&T’s arguments in its merger with Time Warner.

February 14, 2018
DOJ’s AT&T Lawsuit Heats up as DOJ Antitrust Chief Added to Witness List
CNN – Andre Barlow explains why the government may seek to prevent DOJ Antitrust Chief Delrahim from testifying in the AT&T/Time Warner trial.

December 7, 2017
AT&T/Time Warner Antitrust Trial Set for March
The Fiscal Times – Andre Barlow discusses what will be at issue in the AT&T/Time Warner antitrust trial. “The court is going to decide this case based on the economic realities of the video distribution and content markets and not on President Trump’s public battle with CNN.”

December 6, 2017
8 Antitrust experts on what Trump’s war on CNN means for AT&T-Time Warner Merger
Vox – Andre Barlow discusses the prospects of the AT&T-Time Warner merger.

September 19, 2017
Walgreens Gets Nod From Regulators to Buy Rite Aid Stores
Nasdaq- Andre Barlow noted that Rite Aid was a smaller, No. 3 behind two behemoths adding that a smaller chain does not have the same leverage as a larger chain and there is a legitimate argument that Rite Aid was not an effective competitor to the acquisition.

July 20, 2017
Failed DraftKings, Walgreens Deals Show No Trump Effect at FTC
Bloomberg-Andre Barlow chimed in on whether there has been a decrease in merger enforcement with the Trump administration. He noted that “with a Republican administration, there are often concerns that you might not see active enforcement, but we haven’t seen any evidence of that so far under Trump, what we’re seeing is business as usual.”

July 6, 2017
FTC Competition Bureau Chief Steps Down
BNA – Andre Barlow commented on the new replacement and the fact that Tad Lipsky’s job was temporary.

June 30, 2017
Staples Acquisition Could Open Door for Office Depot Deal With Amazon
The Street – Andre Barlow explained that Amazon Business was a new entrant when the FTC argued that it was not a competitive threat to Staples and Office Depot.

June 29, 2017
Walgreens Scraps Rite Aid Merger, Will Instead Buy Half its Stores
Reuters – Andre Barlow discusses the Walgreens-Rite Aid Merger.

June 14, 2017
Slow Merger Reviews Cause Headaches for Companies
Bloomberg- Andre Barlow explained that the FTC’s new initiatives are designed to speed up merger reviews while retaining the ability to conduct a thorough review. “Time will tell whether there is any real reduction in burden for merger reviews, and whether the FTC staff adheres to the initiatives, by beginning the process, however, the FTC is indicating that there are some issues with the current system.” He added, the goal is likely to implement modest changes that will make the FTC more business friendly, while also allowing staff to retain its ability to collect sufficient information and conduct adequate reviews.

June 7, 2017
Consumer Groups Weigh In On $100B InBev, SABMiller Deal
Law 360- Andre Barlow said that simple structural remedies such as divestitures have shown in the past to not be effective at restoring competition. He added that “the bottom line is the settlement agreement needs to be strengthened to keep beer distribution open and independent to protect consumer choice.”

May 11, 2017
U.S. Craft Brewers Cut Out of South African Hop Supply
Brewbound- Andre Barlow commented on ABI’s decision to stop supplying South African hops to U.S. craft brewers. He said that moves like this are “one of the repercussions from allowing the two largest global beer manufacturers to merge. They made a business decision not to supply them to these craft brewers in the United States, and clearly they have the incentive and the ability in this case to impact these craft brewers by withholding their product. That’s a huge concern from a consumer standpoint as well.”

February 14, 2017
Aetna Humana Cancel $34 Billion Deal After Court Ruling
Reuters – Andre Barlow said it was still unclear how the new administration’s antitrust team would review health insurance mergers going forward. “President Trump has demonstrated that he likes to give his take on big ticket items. Health insurers may need to take his temperature before jumping in.”

November 3, 2016
Undeterred by DOJ Scrutinies, A-B Snatches Another Craft Brewery
Brewbound – Andre Barlow discussed the DOJ’s Consent Decree’s Impact on ABI’s ability to acquire craft brewers.

November 2, 2016
Businesses May Crave Mergers, But the Next President Probably Won’t
Chicago Crain’s Business – Andre Barlow commented on the antitrust differences between Presidential candidates Clinton and Trump.

November 2, 2016
Fantasy Rivals Set for Merger Bet
Boston Herald – Andre Barlow commented that there is always antitrust scrutiny of a merger between the top two rivals when combined they would have 90% of the market.

October 27, 2016
With AT&T Time Warner Deal Antitrust Cops Should Emulate FCC
San Francisco Chronicle – Andre Barlow said that the antitrust framework is clear and that the Antitrust Division believes vertical transactions are generally procompetitive.

October 24, 2016
How AT&T’s $85B Time Warner Deal Could Pass Regulatory Scrutiny
Law.com Andre Barlow was quoted saying that politics should not impact the DOJ lawyers’ antitrust review of AT&T/Time Warner.

October 23, 2016
AT&T’s $85B US bid for Time Warner sparks antitrust fears in Washington
Reuters – Andre Barlow said that the deal is a smaller version of the Comcast/NBCU deal but it raises the same types of concerns.

October 21, 2016
AT&T Agrees in Principle to Buy Time Warner
Fortune – Andre Barlow noted that the government may be concerned about whether other cable and internet companies would continue to have access to Time Warner content like HBO and CNN.

October 10, 2016
UnitedHealthcare A Player in Insurance Merger Lawsuits
Hartford Courant – Andre Barlow said that the health insurers face an uphill battle against the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.

July 25, 2016
Beating Budweiser at its Own Game is Just the Beginning for Craft Beer
Market Watch – Andre Barlow commented on the DOJ’s settlement agreement with ABI saying that “the DOJ demonstrated that it is indeed the tough merger cop by forcing ABI to provide more concessions” than simply relying on a structural remedy. “It was vital for the DOJ to prohibit ABI from instituting and continuing practices and distributor-incentive programs that limit the ability and incentives of independent beer distributors to sell and promote craft and import beers, and this settlement does just that, so this is a huge win.”

June 16, 2016
An Antitrust Ruling that Dealmakers Should Love
Crain’s Chicago Business – Andre Barlow was quoted as saying that the FTC’s loss of a merger trial confirms the FTC can’t block any merger it dislikes. “Merging parties have their day in court and if they have a strong case, they can win.”

June 13, 2016
Daily fantasy sports firms FanDuel, DraftKings in merger talks
Reuters – Andre Barlow said that the combination of two of the market leaders would attract antitrust scrutiny.

June 1, 2016
U.S. Is Close to Approving AB InBev-SABMiller Deal
Bloomberg – Andre Barlow commented on how ABI’s strategy of offering a structural remedy to resolve antitrust concerns sped up the antitrust review of its acquisition of SAB.

May 25, 2016
US Officials Investigating King of Beers
Fortune – Andre Barlow said that ABI has the power to limit distributors’ ability to distribute craft brews.

May 20, 2016
Bayer’s Bid for Monsanto Faces Hurdles
The Wall Street Journal – Andre Barlow discussed how three mergers within an industry at the same time complicates the merger reviews.

May 11, 2016
How Staples Misplaced its Merger Hand
The Street – Andre Barlow was quoted on how Staples’ strategy to not put on a defense at trial was risky because it limited the merging parties’ opportunity to defend the deal.

April 5, 2016
Staples Merger Hearing Ends With Judge Urging Accord
Bloomberg – Andre Barlow was quoted about Staples’ strategy of not putting on a defense.

April 5, 2016
Staples Doesn’t Call a Single Witness At Trial
New York Post – Andre Barlow was quoted about how unusual it is for a defendant in antitrust case to not put on a defense.

April 4, 2016
Alaska Air Virgin Face Bumpy Ride
Law 360 – Andre Barlow was quoted about how the Antitrust Division is concerned about consolidation in the airline industry.

March 25, 2016
Tribune’s Ferro Needs a New Growth Strategy
Crain’s Chicago Business – Andre Barlow was quoted about the DOJ’s interest in blocking anticompetitive newspaper mergers.

December 15, 2015
Record Merger Boom Fuels Obama Trustbuster Scrutiny
Investor Daily – Andre Barlow quoted saying that an agency such as the DOJ is enforcement-minded and has to look into its crystal ball to see how the merger may affect industries and consumers in the future. He added that the issues are more complicated and that the agencies have to take their time to thoroughly vet the proposed remedies.

December 9, 2015
Will the Feds Try to Kill the Walgreens-Rite Aid Deal Next?
Crain’s Chicago Business – Andre Barlow was quoted regarding how the high combined market share will attract the FTC’s attention and how the FTC normally evaluates pharmacy retail deals.

November 13, 2015
Anheuser Busch InBev Doesn’t Really Care for the Taste of Miller
Market Watch – Andre Barlow discussed how the Antitrust Division will give the deal a tough look despite the fix it first remedy proposal.

September 28, 2015
Staples Buyout of Office Depot Hinges on FTC Approval
The Street – Andre Barlow was quoted about the FTC’s investigation of Staples.

September 25, 2015
Google Faces American Antitrust Scrutiny Over Android
Newsweek – Andre Barlow was quoted regarding the FTC’s interest in investigating Android.

September 25, 2015
FTC Opens Preliminary Investigation into Google’s Unfair Android Demands
The Daily Mail – Andre Barlow was quoted regarding FTC’s investigation of Google.

July 10, 2015
US Regulators Are Lining Up to Put Aetna’s Multi-Billion Humana Deal Under the Microscope.
Business Insider – Andre Barlow was quoted stating the antitrust division has the final decision on the competitive analysis, but will take into account the states’ information in this article.

DBM in the News – part 2