Antitrust Lawyer Blog

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 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…