Articles Posted in FTC Antitrust Highlights

On August 19, 2010, the FTC and the DOJ issued the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines, which are available on the FTC’s website at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2010/08/100819hmg.pdf. The five-step analytical process outlined in the 1992 Horizontal Merger Guidelines-market definition, competitive effects, entry, efficiencies, and failing firm defense-has been replaced with a more flexible approach to competitive effects analysis.…

On July 28, 2010, the FTC entered into a settlement agreement with Australian based Nufarm Limited (“Nufarm”) regarding its March 5, 2008 acquisition of all of the shares of United Kingdom-based A.H. Marks Holding Limited (“A.H. Marks”).Both companies held or had access to regulatory approvals from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to sell…

On June 14, 2010, Federal Trade Commission Chairman, Jon Leibowitz, gave a speech to the American Medical Association in Chicago amid ongoing tension between the two groups with respect to antitrust regulation in the medical industry. In an effort to address the AMA’s concerns, and to bolster a more productive relationship between the organizations, Leibowitz…

On April 27, the DOJ announced that it reached a settlement that will require Baker Hughes Inc. and BJ Services Company to divest two specially equipped vessels and other assets in order to proceed with their proposed merger.According to the complaint, the transaction as originally proposed would combine two of only four companies that provide…

On December 23, 2009, Agrium Inc. agreed to sell a range of assets as part of an agreement with the FTC that will allow Agrium to move forward with its acquisition of competitor CF Industries Holdings, Inc. The proposed consent order settles allegations that the acquisition would have eliminated competition in the market for anhydrous…

On December 16, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed an administrative complaint against Intel Corporation (“Intel”) alleging that it has engaged in anticompetitive and unfair conduct in order to stifle competition and maintain its monopoly position. In the complaint, the FTC alleges a number of unfair methods of competition in violation of Section 5…

On December 2, 2009, the FTC announced an order settling charges that Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s acquisition of Robin Hood Holdings Limited, owner of Arrow Pharmaceuticals, would have harmed consumers by eliminating future competition for important generic drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease (cabergoline) and the side effects of chemotherapy (dronabinol). Under the order’s terms, Watson…

On November 25, 2009, the FTC announced that it approved SCI’s acquisition of Palm Mortuary, Inc. (“Palm”) as long as it sold a cemetery and funeral home in Las Vegas. The FTC alleged that Las Vegas has a highly concentrated market for cemetery services, which includes burial plots, opening and closing of graves, memorials, burial…