Antitrust Lawyer Blog

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 March 29, the DOJ announced that it will not challenge Cisco Systems Inc.’s acquisition of Tandberg ASA. The EU also cleared the transaction, however, it required conditions for its approval.The DOJ concluded that the proposed deal was not anticompetitive because of the evolving nature of the videoconferencing market and the commitments that Cisco made…

On March 8, 2010, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s (Blue Cross-Michigan) subsidiary, Blue Care Networks of Michigan, abandoned its attempt to purchase Physicians Health Plan of Mid-Michigan (PHP) after the Department of Justice and the Michigan Attorney General informed the companies that they would file an antitrust lawsuit to block the acquisition.The Antitrust Division…

On January 25, 2010, the Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. that allowed it to complete its acquisition of Live Nation, Inc. The settlement agreement required Ticketmaster to license its ticketing software, divest ticketing assets and subject itself to anti-retaliation provisions in order to proceed with its proposed merger…

On January 20, the Department of Justice reached a settlement with the Daily Gazette Company and MediaNews Group Inc. (now known as Affiliated Media Inc.), that requires the companies to restructure their newspaper joint operating arrangement (JOA) and take other steps to remedy the anticompetitive effects of the 2004 transaction, which was originally challenged by…

On January 14, the DOJ announced that it has opened a formal antitrust investigation of the soybean seed industry. Monsanto announced that the DOJ’s Antitrust Division sent it a civil investigative demand (“CID) for information on the company’s soybean traits business after complaints that Monsanto was trying to limit access to push a new, pricier…

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…