Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On June 8, the DOJ granted antitrust approval to the $13.4 billion merger between French telecommunications equipment maker, Alcatel SA and U.S. based Lucent Technologies Inc. The deal is expected to close later this year.

The companies behind the popular Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they failed to disclose important information about the game’s content to consumers. According to the FTC, the companies, in advertising the Entertainment Software Rating Board (“ESRB”) rating for the game, did not tell consumers…

The Stanley Works, a U.S. toolmaker, will pay a $205,000 civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges it falsely claimed its Zero Degree ratchets were Made in the USA. The claims allegedly violated a 1999 FTC order issued against the company to resolve earlier allegations that it had made false Made in the USA…

On June 7, a federal grand jury in Portland, Oregon returned an indictment against Trevor Smith, a former Raisio Chemicals Northwest Inc. sales executive, charging him with two counts of filing false federal income tax returns in 1999 and 2000, understating his income by more than $332,000. The understated income consisted of payments he allegedly…

On June 6, the Federal Trade Commission authorized the filing of a joint amicus brief with the U.S. Department of Justice in the case of Latino Quimica-Amtex S.A. v. Atofina, et al., No. 05-5754-CV (2d Cir.). The case involves an international price-fixing conspiracy by manufacturers of two chemicals, sodium monochloroacetate and monochloroacetic acid, which are…

On June 2, Euronext and the New York Stock Exchange announced a merger that would create the world’s largest stock exchange, and the first cross-Atlantic bourse. At the same time, Deutche B

On June 2, the European Commission approved a

On May 31, the Commission has authorized the staff to file a joint amicus brief with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the case of Weyerhaeuser Co. v. Ross-Simmons Hardwood Lumber Co., No. 05-381 (S. Ct.).The brief, which was filed on May 26, 2006, urges the Court to grant certiorari in this case, in…

On May 30, the DOJ approved Avocent Corp.’s $416 million acquisition of Landesk Software Inc. The deal was announced in April. Avocent is a supplier of network equipment technology and Landesk makes software to secure and manage information technology.

On May 26, Intelsat Ltd. announced that it received clearance from the Department of Justice for its $6.4 billion cash-and-debt deal to buy rival PanAmSat Holdings Corp. Under the terms, Intelsat would pay $25 in cash for each share of PanAmSat and assume about $3.2 billion in debt. The Bermuda-based satellite communications company said last…