Articles Posted in DOJ Antitrust Highlights

On November 14, the DOJ allowed InBev N.V./S.A. (“InBev”) to acquire Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. (“Anheuser-Busch”) on the condition that InBev divest Labatt USA.The DOJ was concerned that without the divestiture of Labatt USA, the merger was likely to lessen competition substantially in the market for beer in the metropolitan areas of Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse,…

On November 12, 2008, LG Display Co. Ltd. (“LG”), Sharp Corp. (“Sharp”), and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. (“Chunghwa”) pled guilty for their role in a conspiracy to fix prices for liquid crystal display (“LCD”) panels and agreed to pay criminal fines totaling $585 million.LCD panels are used in computer monitors, notebooks, televisions, mobile phones, and…

On November 10, 2008, Val M. Northcutt, an executive at Manuli Rubber Industries SpA (“Manuli”) and Francesco Scaglia, , an Italian National employed as a product manager for marine hoses for Manuli’s factory, were each found not guilty by a twelve member jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Southern District of…

On November 5, 2008, Yahoo! Inc. (“Yahoo!”) and Google Inc. (“Google”) ended their advertising agreement after the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) said that it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block the implementation of the agreement. According to the DOJ, both companies account for 90 percent of the Internet search advertising and Internet search syndication.…

On October 30, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) required Verizon Communications Corp. (“Verizon”) to divest assets in 100 locations in 22 States for its acquisition of Alltel Corp. (“Alltel”) to proceed. The divestitures cover the States of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina,…

On October 29, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) decided to end its investigation into the proposed merger between Delta Air Lines, Inc. (“Delta”) and Northwest Airlines Corporation (“Northwest”).The DOJ believes that the merger will result in substantial and credible efficiencies for the two companies, which would translate into improved service by the two airlines.…

On October 28, 2008, Humberto “Beto” Lopez, vice president of El Paso Steel Doors and Frames Inc., pled guilty to conspiring to rig bids and allocate customers for certain contracts for sales of doors and other hardware for various construction projects in the El Paso area. Mr. Lopez has also agreed to cooperate in the…

On October 23, 2008, American Composite Timbers (“ACT”), a plastic marine pilings supplier located in Commack, NY, pled guilty and agreed to pay a criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to commit bribery in connection with a project to repair New York’s Pier 86 where the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum is…

On October 21, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) decided not to challenge a joint licensing agreement by RFID Consortium LLC (“RFID”) for patents to comply with ultra high frequency radio frequency identification (“UHF RFID”) technology, which has a variety of uses including airline baggage tracking, retail product inventory and ticketing for events. RFID is…

On October 20, 2008, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to prevent JBS’s proposed acquisition of National Beef Packing Company LLC (“National”). JBS is the world’s largest beef packer and the third largest in the United States with annual sales in the United States exceeding $6 billion. National is the fourth…