Antitrust Lawyer Blog

On February 21, 2018, Judge Leon ruled against AT&T Inc.’s (“AT&T”) ability to discover evidence that would support its selective enforcement defense. Background On November 21, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division filed a complaint in federal court block AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner Inc. (“Time Warner”). On February 16, 2018, the…

Big is Not Necessarily Bad When Powerful Buyers Control the Purse Strings Some pundits have argued that the antitrust agencies should adopt a “big is bad” approach to merger reviews to prevent further consolidation of large companies. But Joseph Simons, the nominee to be Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), understands that “big is…

On February 12, 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed an administrative complaint against Benco, Henry Schein, and Patterson, the three largest national full service dental supply distributors in the United States for allegedly conspiring to refuse to provide discounts to or otherwise serve buying groups representing dentists and against Benco for inviting a fourth…

On February 14, 2018, it was reported that AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”) identified as a potential witness for trial, Makan Delrahim, the head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division. AT&T’s request for the antitrust chief to testify is highly unusual, but would appear necessary given that AT&T is claiming as a defense that…

On February 2, 2018, Bruce Hoffman, the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) acting Director of the Bureau of Competition, announced at the Global Competition Review Seventh Annual Antitrust Law Leaders Forum that the FTC will no longer accept divestitures of inhalant and injectable pipeline drugs in pharmaceutical mergers.  Historically, the FTC had accepted divestiture of pipeline…

On January 26, 2018, the head of the Antitrust Division, Makan Delrahim delivered remarks to the NY State Bar where he discussed his views on behavioral remedies and consent decrees. He noted that the Division’s recent consent decrees reflect several provisions designed to ensure the Division can meaningfully enforce them.  Delrahim stated that the DOJ’s…

Historically, the FTC and DOJ have sought to unwind consummated mergers that are deemed to be anticompetitive.  During Trump’s first year in office, the FTC and DOJ have demonstrated their willingness to unwind anticompetitive mergers that somehow sneaked by the regulators. FTC Seeks to Unwind Merger of Prosthetic Knee Manufacturers On December 20, 2017, the…

On December 20, 2017, the FTC issued an administrative complaint seeking to unwind a merger between prosthetic knee manufacturers Otto Bock HealthCare North America, Inc. (“Otto Bock”) and FIH Group Holdings, LLC (“Freedom”). Background On September 22, 2017, Otto Bock and Freedom simultaneously executed a merger agreement and consummated their merger.  Within four days of…

On December 15, 2017, a federal district court granted the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) and North Dakota Attorney General’s request for a preliminary injunction against Sanford Health’s proposed acquisition of Mid Dakota Clinic, a large multispecialty group, pending the FTC’s administrative trial on the merits scheduled for January of 2018.  FTC v. Sanford Health, et…

On December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to adopt the Restoring Internet Freedom Order and in doing so, scrapped its net neutrality rules that were put in place in 2015. Net Neutrality is a principle that allows for an open and free internet.  The Internet Service Providers (ISPs”) are the gatekeepers…