Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On May 16 and May 17, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (FTC) raided approximately 20 contractors over bid-rigging allegations in projects ordered by the Japanese Defense Facilities Administration Agency as well as engineering and construction works at a U.S. military facility in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture in conspiracy with officials of the Defense Facilities Administration Agency.Three…

On May 16, the European Commission raided 20 gas companies across five countries following suspicions that the targeted firms restricted “access to pipeline and storage facilities” and engaged in certain “concerted practices between incumbents that can be described as market-sharing,” according to an EC spokesperson. Among the companies raided were Germany’s RWF, France’s Gaz de…

On May 15, the DOJ announced that David L. Meyer has been appointed to serve as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of civil enforcement for the Division. Meyer will oversee three of the Division’s civil sections. Previously, Meyer served the Antitrust Division as Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Charles F. Rule from…

On May 12, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division announced that it reached a settlement agreement with Mittal Steel Company N.V. regarding its offer to acquire Arcelor S.A. The agreement would resolve potential antitrust concerns in the event that the Antitrust Division concludes the combination of Mittal and Arcelor raises anticompetitive concerns. Under the agreement, the DOJ…

On May 12, the DOJ told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that it is necessary to extend the term of certain portions of the Microsoft final judgment by at least two years. The DOJ said that an extension is necessary due to Microsoft’s difficulty in improving the technical documentation it provides…

On May 11, the DOJ cleared KLA-Tencor Corp.’s acquisition of ADE Corp. KLA supplies integrated circuit manufacturers with equipment to manage their chip wafer fabrication process while ADE makes technology to detect defects in semiconductor wafers and computer disks. The deal was announced shortly after KLA announced it abandoned plans to buy August Technology Corp.

On May 11, Italy’s antitrust authority ruled that Prime Minister Berlusconi did not violate conflict of interest rules when his government approved subsidies to Italians who purchase digital television decoders. While critics of the subsidies claimed that they favored Mediaset SPA, Berlusconi’s own television broadcasting empire, the antitrust authority found that the

On May 9, Coherent Inc. announced that it received antitrust approval from the Antitrust Division to buy Excel Technology Inc. Coherent indicated that it received a second request on March 27th from Antitrust Division in connection with its antitrust investigation. Andre Barlow

On May 9, a judge with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit raised questions about EarthLink, Inc.’s (“EarthLink”) assertion that the FCC erred when it stopped requiring the Bell operating companies (“BOCs”) to make available unbundled network elements for the broadband market because there isn’t any competition in the sector. The judge…

On May 5, the Federal Trade Commission announced that at the conclusion of the International Competition Network “ICN” conference in Cape Town, South Africa, significant accomplishments were made, including the completion of a Merger Guidelines Workbook and a new agenda that includes a working group on unilateral conduct.The fifth annual conference, hosted by the South…