The Antitrust Division filed a complaint and proposed settlement requiring Verizon to divest its cellular business in 22 states to ensure continued competition after it acquires Alltel. The FCC has approved the deal.
Category Archives: Antitrust Division Action
DOJ Won’t Challenge Delta-Northwest Merger
November 7, 2008 – 12:51 pm
The Antitrust Division closed its investigation of the proposed merger between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the number 3 and 5 carriers in the United States. In doing so, the Division joined in European counterpart in concluding that the union would not substantially lesson competition. Overlapping routes were mininmal, the Division said, and adequate […]
DOJ Challenged Beef Packing Merger
October 22, 2008 – 9:41 am
Earlier this year, JBS SA, the third largest beef packer in the US, acquired National Beef Packing and Smithfield, the fourth and fifth largest packers, respectively. The Antitrust Division filed suit in the Northern District of Illinois challenging JBS’s acquisition of National Beef, but not Smithfield. The acquisition would create the largest beef packer with […]
DOJ Approves Patent Pool for High Frequency Bagage Tracking
October 22, 2008 – 9:26 am
The Antitrust Division agreed that it would challenge an agreement among seven technology companies owning patents essential to a standard for UHF RFID technology used in airline bagage tracking and event ticketing. The Division agreed that the proposal would lead to more efficient licensing and reduce the potential for blocking technology to slow the development […]
DOJ & FTC Squabble Over Section 2 Guidelines
September 10, 2008 – 10:46 am
After a series of joint meetings to help clarify enforcement standards for single firm conduct, the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, issued a report on its own. Three FTC Commissions almost immediately critisized the report as going to far in insulating single firm conduct from antitrust scrutiny. To read the report, click here.